Thirst
by IWillBelieveIt
Summary: When Dan, Tom, Zoe and Aneisha stay at a secluded campsite for the weekend, Zoe discovers something about Dan - a dark, dangerous secret that he's been keeping from everyone. When his secret is revealed, it sets in motion a chain of events that's going to change the way they all see the world. Pairings: Zan and Toneisha.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey, guys. So basically, I recieved**_** The Vampire Diaries **_**Seasons 1 - 4 for Christmas. And when I mixed **_**Vampire Diaries**_** with my excitement for **_**M. **_** Season 7, this is what I got. Anyway, this is Chapter 1. Enjoy!**

Daniel Morgan flung himself out of his bedroom window, already reaching for a long, thick branch of the tree outside. He caught it easily, swinging himself forward as he let it go, landing in a crouch on the soft grass at the base of the tree.

"I really wish you wouldn't do that, Daniel." A voice said behind him.

"Well, _excuse me _if I want to do something that I enjoy." Dan shot back, turning around. Then his expression becoming softer, blue eyes softening. "Mum, since when is it illegal to be myself?"

"Since it is dangerous, Daniel." His mother hissed, stepping towards him. "If people find out what you are, they would not hesitate to kill you. These friends – " She broke off as Dan looked away, moving forward and grabbing his chin so he was looking at her. "That girl that you adore so much. If they ever found out what you are, Daniel, they'd kill you."

Dan thought of Zoe, the girl who'd captured his heart ever since he'd met her. She was always so happy, so beautiful, so full of life.

"You don't know that." Dan said, shaking his head. His mother let go of his chin and Dan stepped back, shaking blonde hair out of his eyes. Before his mother could say anything more, Dan turned and walked away, hunching his shoulders and shifting his school bag so it settled more comfortably on them. He didn't want to hear how different he was from Zoe, from Tom, from Aneisha, from _everybody_. Every waking moment of every single day reminded him of what he was and how they could never truly know everything about him, otherwise he'd die.

* * *

"I have a great idea." Zoe said, sitting beside Dan, who was sitting on his desk, in front of Tom and Aneisha.

"Oh no. We'd better get the paramedics on standby." Dan teased. Zoe shoved his shoulder and Dan laughed.

"And the fire department." Tom added.

"And the police." Aneisha chimed in.

"Leave me alone." Zoe mumbled. "My ideas aren't that bad."

"Okay, true." Dan said. "They're not _that _bad. What's your idea?"

"We should go camping this weekend. There's this place half an hour away that has cabins and campsites. It's got a lake there and a whole load of other stuff."

"That's a great idea!" Aneisha cried.

"I think we should definitely go." Tom said.

Dan however looked pained. Zoe turned to look at him and he managed to manipulate his expression so he just looked as if he thought it was a bad idea.

"What do you think, Dan?" Zoe asked.

"I don't think that's a good idea." Dan said, looking down at her.

"You don't have to come." Aneisha said.

"But I want you to come." Zoe said, looking up at Dan with those innocent eyes of hers that he loved so much. He sighed and took a deep breath. "Fine. I'm in."

Zoe smiled and kissed his cheek. "Thank you, Dan."

And that was how Dan ended up sitting in the back of his parent's car, listening to the pair of them giving him the long-dead speech about being careful. Dan tuned out for most of it – he'd heard it ten thousand times so that by that point, he could probably recite it to anyone who asked. Finally, he got sick of hearing it, he said, "Can you two just relax? Jesus, I've heard this talk a million times."

His mother turned in her seat, casting Dan a cold look. "You can never be too careful, Daniel. You remember that this weekend. If your friends find out –"

"We're all going to be screwed, we're going to have to run, we're all going to die." Dan said in a bored tone. "Blah. Blah. Blah."

"You can never be too careful, Dan."

"Just leave him, Katarina." Dan's father, Ezekiel, said.

Katarina sighed, but she turned to face the front. "He's going to blow it, Zeke."

"He's not going to blow anything. Daniel knows what he's doing."

"Hello! I'm right here!" Dan yelled. Ezekiel laughed and glancing back at his son, sitting in the backseat with blue eyes that flashed with anger.

Katarina started to say something, but she broke off as Ezekiel stopped the car. Dan looked out the window and saw a set of cabins with a lush green lawn next to it.

"Thanks, guys." Dan said, climbing out of the car, dragging his bag with him.

"Daniel." Ezekiel said as Dan slammed the car door shut. He turned towards his father, who cast him an earnest look. "Be careful, my son."

"I will, Dad. Don't worry about it." Dan said, moving towards the cabins. The light was on in one of them and Dan pushed the door open, looking around. Tom was lying on the bottom bunk of one of the beds, playing on one of those portable gaming consoles of his. Zoe and Aneisha were sitting on the top bunk of another bed, laughing and joking.

"You started the party without me. How disappointing." Dan said, dropping his bag on the floor. The girls stopped talking, their heads snapping up at the sound of Dan's voice.

"Dan!" Zoe cried happily, flinging herself over the edge of the bed and landing easily in front of him. She hugged him eagerly and Dan laughed as she squeezed a little too hard on his neck.

"Okay, Zo. Relax."

"We weren't sure you'd come." Aneisha said, leaning over the side of the bed as Zoe pulled away from Dan.

"Why wouldn't I?" Dan asked, throwing himself onto the bed Tom was laying on.

"You didn't seem to like the idea much when I came up with it." Zoe said, sitting beside Dan on the bed. He shifted over so Zoe had more room and she smiled up at him. Dan smiled down at her, feeling tempted to brush her hair away from her face, but he held himself back, remembering his parent's warnings about being careful.

Zoe looked away from Dan, glancing skyward. "Neish, get down here!"

Dan heard squeaking as Aneisha clambered down from the bed she had been sitting on. Dan caught Tom giving him an amused look, but Dan shook it off, muttering, "Just leave it, Thomas."

"Leave what?" Aneisha asked, flopping onto the bed on her back, between Zoe and Dan and Tom.

"Nothing." Dan said. "Don't worry about it."

Zoe cast him a curious look, but she shrugged it off, looking around. "Isn't this place great?"

"I thought we were camping." Aneisha said. "Staying in cabins is not camping, Zo."

"Next time we'll stay in tents, okay? I just thought this place might be fun – it's got the lake and it's got the forest and there's a fire pit. Even if we're not in tents, this weekend is going to be life-changing."


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you, guys, for all your lovely reviews! You guys are absolutely amazing.**

"_Next time we'll stay in tents, okay? I just thought this place might be fun – it's got the lake and it's got the forest and there's a fire pit. Even if we're not in tents, this weekend is going to be life-changing."_

The rest of that night was relatively boring. After about another hour of talking and joking, the four teens went to bed. Dan and Tom moved into the other cabin. There were two bunk beds in the cabin and each boy took a different bed. Dan's was next to the window and he could hear everything – the crickets in the grass, the rabbits in the forest, the deer grazing in the very grass that the crickets were in, but all those beautiful sounds were lost on him because Dan's jaw had started throbbing painfully. It was like having needles being shoved into his gums, again and again and again until he wanted to scream out in frustration and pain.

Dan tried to ignore the throbbing in his jaw, but at around three in the morning he couldn't take it anymore. Being careful not to make a sound, Dan crept out of bed, pulling on jeans and black t-shirt. Pushing his feet into his shoes, Dan cast a glance at Tom – asleep in his bunk. Dan sighed and quietly opened the door, slipping out and silently closing the door behind him. He breathed in a lungful of fresh night air before he took off in the direction of the forest. He crashed through the grass as the throbbing in his jaw intensified so now it felt like knives instead of needles being shoved into his gums.

Dan paused near a big, thick tree, blue eyes searching frantically as he strained his ears, trying to hear what animals were within the forest. He could hear an owl and a rabbit. Owls were generally a little harder to get to, because of the range of which they could see. Rabbits were a lot easier. Dan breathed in deeply before he dashed off in search of the rabbit, following the scent as it slowly became stronger and stronger. He only stopped when he found the rabbit, having a little midnight snack of grass. Dan's instinct to hunt switched on immediately and two sharp points pressed into his bottom lip, the blue in his eyes turning black. His veins became more prominent, turning a bold dark blue. He smiled and launched himself forward, grabbing the rabbit with both hands. It struggled, trying to get free, but Dan clenched his hands and crushed the rabbit's ribs. Then he sank his teeth into the rabbit's neck. Immediately, blood exploded into his mouth, warm and hot and sweet. Human blood was better, but he refused to touch it after last time. He drank until there was no more left for him to drink, when he dropped the rabbit at his feet. He revelled in the feeling of having new blood in his system – his senses were heightened, everything he could see sharper and clearer. Dan licked the blood off his lips, smiling. The part that he loved the most about feeding was the abrupt departure of the throbbing in his jaw that represented the hunger, the Thirst.

Dan heard footsteps behind him and he turned around to see a large chocolate-brown wolf with silver-coloured eyes. Dan's fangs retracted and his eyes turned blue again, his veins paling and once more.

"Matthew." Dan said. The wolf sat down and there was a cracking sound. Dan winced and glanced away before he looked back. The wolf was gone and in its place stood a teenage boy, about Dan's age, with chocolate brown eyes and sharp, handsome features. His eyes flashed silver quickly before turning brown, extinguishing any further evidence of the wolf.

Dan grinned. "Matt, what are you _doing _here?"

"What do you think, Bat?" Matthew asked, grinning back. "I'm here to make sure you don't blow this."

"Did my parents send you?" Dan asked. "And don't call me Bat."

"Why not?"

"Because I said so." Dan said. "I could rip your throat out if I wanted to."

"And if I got my teeth into you, you'd die a slow and painful death." Matthew said.

"Fair enough." Dan said. "So did my parents send you?"

"What? You think I'm not capable of making sure my best friend can take care of himself?" Matt asked.

"I know that you are." Dan said. "But my parents . . . they kind of freaked out when I told them about this weekend."

"Understandable. You're a vampire spending three days non-stop with humans. I'd freak out too." Matthew said. "Speaking of humans, who's the redhead? She's cute."

"She is Zoe." Dan said, casting Matthew an almost cold look. Matthew's brown eyebrows rose and he laughed nervously. "_That's _Zoe? The Zoe? The one you've got the hots for?"

"Yeah." Dan said, smiling. "That's her. You sound surprised."

"Honestly, I thought you'd made her up." Matthew said.

"Asshole." Dan said, shoving him into a nearby tree. Matthew laughed and shoved Dan back, who kicked him into a tree. Laughing, Matthew caught Dan in a headlock.

* * *

"Did you hear that animal last night?" Aneisha asked, poking at the small campfire with a stick.

"Yeah, I heard it. It sounded like a wolf or something." Zoe said, tiredly eating some toast. She turned to Dan and Tom, sitting side by side on a big rock, both looking lethargic and ready to fall back to sleep. "Did you two hear it?"

Dan's blue eyes met Zoe's – maybe it was just her imagination, but she couldn't help thinking that he looked a little nervous.

"I didn't hear anything." Dan said, glancing away and taking a bite out of his toast.

"Yeah, that's because you sleep like a goddamn corpse." Tom said, laughing. Dan kicked him in the shin, trying not to put any of vampire strength behind the blow. Dan couldn't help noticing the irony in Tom's comment because the brunette was right - he was basically a walking corpse.

"Ow." Tom muttered, reaching down to rub his lower leg. "That hurt."

"Stop being such a baby." Aneisha told him, rolling her eyes. "He didn't kick you that hard."

Tom shot her a cold look and Dan aimed another kick at Tom's leg.

"Okay, okay! It wasn't that hard!" Tom yelled, cringing away from Dan. "Just – don't – kick me – again!"

Both girls erupted into laughter as Dan grinned, carefully nudging Tom's leg with his foot. Tom glared at him, but Dan just laughed, finishing off his toast. Zoe, having already finished, leaned back on her hands and sighed happily as she stared past Dan and Tom, at the lake behind them.

"What?" Dan asked, putting his plate aside.

"That lake looks so nice." Zoe said, smiling.

"Well then. Why don't you see if it's as nice as it looks?" Dan asked, standing up. Before Zoe could ask what he meant, Dan grabbed her and hauled Zoe over his shoulder. He started walking across the grass towards the lake with Zoe shouting insults in his ear. Dan just ignored her, switching his hold on her as he reached the dock, Aneisha and Tom trailing behind him, both trying not to start laughing. When he reached the end of the dock, Dan leaned forward and swung Zoe off his shoulder, feigning that he was going to drop her into the water. Instead, he set her on her feet in front of him, smiling. "You didn't really think I'd drop you in, did you?"

"No." Zoe replied. "But I can do it to you."

She made a grab for him, but Dan stepped backwards and Zoe slipped off the dock. Just before she hit the water, Dan's arms shot out, wrapping around Zoe's waist and pulling her back up onto solid ground. He turned her around so she was facing him. Her green eyes were wide, watching him with a curious expression. Aneisha and Tom were watching him with similar expressions.

"Thanks." Zoe said, looking up at Dan with beautiful green eyes.

"No problem." Dan said. He smiled and walked past Zoe, off the dock and back onto the grass. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go get ready."

Then he walked off in the direction off the cabins, disappearing inside the cabin he was sharing with Tom. Aneisha and Tom shared a confused glance with Zoe.

"Was that weird, or what?" Aneisha asked.

"Probably just adrenaline." Zoe said. But she couldn't seem to shake the feeling that he shouldn't have been able to move that fast, even with adrenaline.


	3. Chapter 3

**Before I forget, **_**again**_**, I want to thank ainsley25, Zoe-Look-A-Like and AlexRiderAndMIHigh4Infinity for their ideas that have contrubuted to this story. Seriously, thank you, guys.**

Dan flipped himself off the dock and into the water, splashing Tom, who was sitting on the dock. Zoe and Aneisha, sitting on the grass, yelled something as Dan surfaced, shaking wet blonde hair out of his eyes.

"Come on, Thomas." Dan said.

"Nah, I'm good." Tom said.

"Too bad." Dan said, pulling himself up onto the dock. "I don't take no for an answer."

Tom sighed, but he got to his feet and moved to the edge of the dock. Dan moved towards him and then Tom dived in. Aneisha got up and dived in after Tom as Dan turned towards Zoe, who was sitting on the grass, watching with an amused expression.

"Now, Miss Zoe." Dan said, moving towards her. "Your turn."

"No. No, you're not." Zoe said, getting up and moving away, but Dan grabbed her around the waist.

"Yes, yes, you are." Dan told her, dragging her over to the dock.

"Dan!" Zoe cried, twisting and trying to get free. It was impossible to do – he was stronger than she was and she was only wearing a light blue bikini. Dan swung her up easily into his arms and Zoe groaned. "Dan, let me down!"

"As you wish." Dan said. Zoe squealed as Dan dropped her in the water. Aneisha and Tom started laughing as Zoe surfaced, pushing wet auburn hair out of her face.

"Dan!" Zoe cried, but she was smiling.

"Fine. If it makes you feel any better . . ." Dan flipped himself off the dock and into the water.

"I hate you." Zoe told him, splashing water at him.

"No you don't." Dan replied, splashing water back at her. "You love me too much."

Behind them, Aneisha and Tom stifled their laughter as Zoe smiled up at him. Dan grinned down at her, but his expression sobered when he saw movement in the forest near the cabins. He saw a flash of silver as Matthew poked his head out from behind a tree, the werewolf's expression wary.

"What are you looking at?" Tom asked, glancing between Dan and the forest. Zoe touched Dan's arm as Matthew slipped back into the shadows of the forest, concealing himself from the view of the three humans. Dan glanced down at Zoe and smiled.

"It's nothing. Don't worry about it. It's nothing."

* * *

Later that night, after dinner, Zoe and Aneisha were dancing happily, laughing and singing as 'Salute' by Little Mix blasted from Aneisha's iPod speakers. Dan and Tom were sitting at the campfire, playing a game of cards. It probably wasn't the smartest place to do it, but both boys were too lazy to bother with moving – they'd rather risk to losing a few cards to the burning-hot flames. Between turns, Dan kept sneaking glances at Zoe when she wasn't looking.

"Ask her out." Tom said, glancing between Dan and the cards in his hands.

"I can't." Dan said.

"Why not? She likes you, you like her." Tom hissed. "Ask her out."

"It's complicated." Dan said, putting a card down between them.

"How?" Tom asked. "How is it – oh shit."

Dan grinned, gathering up the cards between them, his own hand of cards, as well as Tom's. He started shuffling them, his blue eyes watching the cards move in his hands. "It's complicated because . . . Mastermind. Sternum. KORPS. Get the picture?"

"Yeah, but Dan – that was _a month ago_." Tom said as Dan started dividing the cards between them.

"She's got enough to deal with." Dan said.

"Come dance with us." Zoe said, dancing over to Dan and Tom and cutting off whatever Tom was about to say.

"Uh, no." Dan said, setting down his hand of cards.

"Why not?" Aneisha asked, appearing beside Zoe and crossing her arms over her chest.

"Because for one, that song is about empowering women. And two, I don't dance." Dan told them.

Zoe shrugged and walked over to the speakers, changing the song to 'Stay the Night' by Zedd and featuring Hayley Williams. Zoe grinned and moved back to the others. She tugged on Dan's shirt with one hand, but he stayed where he was.

"Dan, please." Zoe said. "At least come for a walk with me?"

Dan nodded and got to his feet. Zoe let go of his shirt and started walking off in the direction of the forest, without even checking to see if Dan was following her. She knew that he would.

Dan jogged after her, bumping his shoulder against hers as the tree tops rose high above their heads. For second night in a row, he found himself listening to the sounds of the animals around him. He and Zoe came to a clearing and Zoe smiled as she lifted her face to the heavens, smiling as she listened to the sounds around her. Dan smiled as he watched her close her eyes and breathe in deeply.

"I love it out here." Zoe said quietly, opening her eyes and looking at Dan, who was leaning against the tree.

"You've been here before?" Dan asked.

Zoe shook her head. "I just like being in nature in general. I didn't get much time in it at SKUL."

"No, I suppose you wouldn't have." Dan said, stepping towards her. "So what was it like? Living at SKUL."

Zoe shrugged, pulling her bright auburn hair into a ponytail as she averted his gaze. "Boring. Lonely. Isolated." She glanced up at Dan and offered him a small smile. "Get the idea?"

"Yeah. I do." Dan said. Her childhood sounded a lot like his – apart from Matthew, he'd never really had any real friends as a kid. His parents had discouraged him from it because he was destined to spend eternity alone.

"What did you see?" Zoe asked. "This morning, in the lake. You saw _something_."

Dan shrugged and lied easily, "I don't really know _what_ I saw. Probably just a trick of the light."

Zoe didn't look like she believed him, but she dropped the subject. Dan tried to ignore the sound of her heart beating and the pleasurable pain that had started in his upper jaw, the beginnings of bloodlust. He'd have to hunt again later.

"Are you okay?" Zoe asked. "You seem distracted."

"I'm fine." Dan said. "Just thinking."

"What about?" Zoe asked, watching him with big green eyes.

"You." Dan said softly, blue eyes watching her face carefully for her reaction. As with everything else, she didn't disappoint. Zoe's eyebrows rose and she looked up at Dan's eyes, trying to work out if this was some sick joke. When she saw no hint of amusement in his eyes, Zoe made a fast descision. Before she lost her nerve, she pushed up on the ends of her toes, pressing her mouth firmly against Dan's. Dan's mouth opened slightly in shock, but then he regained control of himself and placed his hands on her hips, kissing her tentatively. She felt so warm and soft and alive, so completely human that Dan felt the Thirst rear its ugly head, the hunger for human blood stronger than he had ever felt before.

Dan pulled away before his fangs could come out, resting his temple against Zoe's. He pushed the bloodlust into the back of his head, forcing his veins to return to their normal state and changing his eyes from a dangerous black to a clear light blue. By the time he'd forced his true nature back, he was breathing heavily.

"You okay?" Zoe asked, taking his hand and squeezing his fingers.

"Yeah. I'm fine." Dan said. "We should probably get back to Tom and Aneisha."

Zoe nodded and Dan started leading them both back the way they'd come. They walked with their hands intertwined, picking their way carefully through the forest. Dan saw Matthew quite a few times, in wolf form, silver eyes sparkling at him.

When Dan and Zoe returned to Tom and Aneisha, the two were sitting at the campfire, playing a game of cards.

"I win." Aneisha said.

"That's absolute bullsh - Danny Boy!" Tom yelled upon seein Dan and Zoe. Dan grinned and Aneisha turned around, brown eyes widening at the sight of them.

"Romeo and Juliet!" Aneisha yelled, the cards slipping out of her hand. A few fell into the fire snd Tom started yelling at her about it, completely forgetting Dan and Zoe for the time being.


	4. Chapter 4

**Guys, before you read this, you need to know that I'll probably be going on hiatus for a while. Some stuff has happened at home and now my dad has said he's going to disconnect our internet. Whether or not he'll do it, I don't know. It's a shame because I have lots of stories that will probably never see the light of day. I hope you guys have enjoyed my stories and hopefully one day in the future I'll be able to return to the archive. If you guys wan to contact me, I'll find some way of checking my Twitter ( teentastictweet) so you guys can still talk to me. You guys are amazing and wouln't have kept writn this long if it wasn't for you. But cancelling the internet isn't definite yet, so you nwver know. Maybe I'll be back with a new chapter in a few days time.I still have hope, so so should you.**

Later that night, Dan again lay in bed, listening to the sounds around him. Tom had fallen asleep after Dan told him what had happened with Zoe, leaving Dan to himself. Dan had been right when he'd thought he needed to feed again - being in such close proximity to Zoe so suddenly had left his ever-present bloodlust restless. The pleasure-pain that had started in the forest had given way to the sharp prickling of his upper jaw. Any minute now, he would feel the needles.

Dan wondered if he could sleep it off, whether slumber would make the hunger less intense. He'd never tried that before. Somehow, though, he knew it wouldn't work. The thirst wasn't like when humans got hungry. It was intense, so much so that when it got going, there was no stopping it. Carefully, Dan got out of bed and pulled on his jeans and a jacket, shoving his feet into his shoes. He didn't really need the jacket - vampires didn't feel hot and cold the way that humans did. They could feel it, alright, but it didn't affect them.

Dan crept out into the forest, his ears searching for any sound. He knew that a mere rabbit wouldn't sustain him tonight - a fox would quench his thirst for next couple of days, so he listened for one. He refused to settle for less than his thirst desired because he knew that if he didn't, hurting Zoe could become a very real possiblity. And he'd be damned before he hurt her.

_Too late for that_, a voice in the back of his head whispered. _You're already damned_.

Dan forced the voice away, focusing on what he was doing. Then he heard it - the sound of a four-legged hunter. It sounded too small to be a wolf, but its movements were too even for it to be a rabbit. A feral grin graced Dan's mouth, exposing his canines, which now appeared as two tiny razor-sharp daggers. Spidery veins appeared at his temples and across his neck and if he looked down, Dan knew that veins would mark the backs of his hands. The blue in Dan's eyes was gone - the pupil had completely swallowed the iris, so that his eyes appeared to be pitch-black. Moving so fast that he would have appeared as a blur to the naked human eye, Dan raced towards the sound of the fox, of his prey.

The fox didn't stand a chance.

Before the animal could even blink, Dan was upon it, snapping its neck easily with quick fingers and sinking his teeth into the fox's flesh. As hot blood ran down his throat, satisfying his desire for blood, Dan listened to the world around him. He heard the unmistakeable sound of human footsteps running away from him, but that must have been Matthew. Tom was still fast asleep and the girls had fallen asleep before he and Dan had.

Dan didn't bother to think about the fact that the footsteps were moving away as he drank the last drops from the fox. Gasping with the rush that came from having consumed fresh blood, Dan let the fox go and stood up, wiping blood from his mouth.

"Dan." Someone said behind him. Dan's mind was still spinning from the blood and he turned, his mouth twisting to expose his fangs as a snarl ripped from his throat.

"Dan." Matthew said, brown eyes turning silver.

Dan's muscles relaxed as he recognised his best friend, pushing his appearance to turn back to the way it should.

"Zoe just went back into her cabin." Matthew said, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"So?" Dan asked, wiping the blood off his mouth with the back of his hand. "It doesn't mean she saw me."

Matthew's eyes - which kept switching back and forth between brown and silver - narrowed worriedly. "I hope for your sake that she didn't, Dan. Otherwise you'll be in deep shit."

* * *

The next day, the four teens didn't go into the lake again. After breakfast, they packed up what gear they'd brought with them and then they all sat on the dock, their bags up by the cabins. Dan was lying on his back, his legs dangling off the end of the dock, halfway up his calves submerged in the water. His shoes sat next to him and he had his eyes closed, his fingers combing gently through Zoe's hair. Zoe was lying sideways with her legs dangling off the side of the dock, her eyes closed and her head resting on Dan's stomach. Tom and Aneisha were sitting side-by-side on the other side of the dock, their feet dangling into the water. Tom kept fighting the urge to push Aneisha in.

They all looked up when they heard a car horn beep and upon seeing his parent's car, Dan started to ease out from under Zoe. Zoe sighed and sat up as Dan got up, shoving his feet into his shoes.

"I'll see you tomorrow." Dan told Zoe, dropping a kiss onto the top of her head before he started up the hill towards the cabin. He tapped the back of Aneisha's head and high-fived Tom as he walked past, makin sure, as always, to keep his unnatural strength out of each movement.

"Get in." Ezekiel said, throwing Dan's bag into the boot of the car and slamming it shut. Dan sighed and slid into the backseat beside Matthew, who cast him an apologetic look.

"No, 'It's nice to see you, Dan! How was your weekend?' then?" Dan asked as Ezekiel started the car.

Ezekiel sighed. "I'm sorry, Daniel. I just hope that girl didn't see you last night."

Dan turned to Matthew. "You told them?!"

"What was I supposed to do?" Matthew asked. Dan sighed and glared out the window for the rest of the drive home.


	5. Chapter 5

Later that day, Katarina and Ezekiel left to go see some friends, leaving Dan home alone. They were barely gone for fifteen minutes when Dan heard someone knock on the door. Dan moved to the front door and pulled it open, revealing Zoe. He started to smile, but then he really saw her and the smile faded. Zoe's eyes were wild and she was pointing a knife at his chest.

"What have you done with Daniel Morgan?" Zoe hissed, gripping the knife tighter.

"Zoe -" Dan started, taking a step forward.

"Where is he?!" Zoe shouted, her voice high as she stepped back.

"I'll tell you everything you need to know." Dan said. "Just come with me."

He also wanted to ask her to put that knife down, but he knew that she wouldn't so he didn't bother. He took Zoe by the arm and started to lead her into the forest to the side of the house. Zoe followed, one hand still clutching the knife like a lifeline. She stumbled after him, nearly cutting herself with the knife several times, until they came to a clearing. Dan let her go and then sat on a rock, looking up at her with those beautiful clear blue eyes of his. Zoe's heart rattled painfully in her chest against her ribcage at the sight, because now she knew that he wasn't human.

"So," he started. "How'd you work it out?"

Zoe played with the knife as she spoke, more so she wouldn't have to look at him. "My first tip-off was when I first said about going camping. Then, when we said about the wolf, you looked kind of pained, as if we'd discovered a secret that could cause your death. Later, you caught me on the dock. You shouldn't have been that fast. So when you snuck out of your cabin, I followed you. I saw you run so fast that you were a blur before I ran back to my cabin."

"Okay, so what's your conclusion?" Dan asked, leaning forward on his elbows. "What do you think I am?"

"Vampire." Zoe whispered. She wanted him to tell her she was crazy, to tell her that that she was hallucinating, because then he wouldn't be a vampire. He wouldn't be a monster.

Instead, Dan simply nodded. Zoe felt her whole world shatter around her, her chest tightening. Now she could accept the plain fact - the boy she loved more than anything else in this world was a monster. She recalled Aneisha's many comments about Romeo and Juliet and almost collapsed in hysterical laughter. She started to back away, clutching her knife to her chest as her eyes grew wide in fear.

"Zoe, it's me. It's Dan. I'm not going to hurt you. Look, just sit down, I'll explain everything to you and then when I'm done, you can decide what you want to do with that information. Okay?"

Reluctantly, Zoe nodded and sat on the ground so she was facing him. She drove the knife, blade first, into the ground in front of her. She knew that if she needed it, she could quickly grab it. With a start, Dan realised that it was a proper hunting knife, not a kitchen knife like he'd originally thought.

"So how old are you?" Zoe asked, expecting an anwser like 'a century and a half.'

"Seventeen." Dan told her. "I didn't lie about that. But I'll be seventeen forever."

"You can walk in the sunlight." Zoe said. "Can all vampires do that?"

Dan shook his head. "I can, because I'm what's called a 'born vampire.' It's exactly what the name suggests - my parents are both vampires."

"Can all vampires reproduce?"

"No. My parents are 'Old One' vampires. They're two of the ten Old One vampires made in the Middle Ages." Dan said. "They're the only other vampires that can walk in the sun. Any other vampires need a special talisman to be out in the day. Otherwise they burn in the sun. You can also kill a vampire by driving a stake through their heart, cutting their head off or setting them on fire."

"Crosses?"

"Only work if the vampire was Christian before they were Turned. Holy water and blessed metal work, though, because we're more hell's creatures than heaven's." Dan explained. Looking at him, Zoe wanted to tell him that she didn't believe that, but she couldn't quite get the words out.

"Houses?"

"Have to be invited into a human dwelling." Dan said

"Is there any way to, you know, create new vampires?" Zoe asked.

"A vampire has to drink from a human and then that human has to drink that same vampire's blood. Vampire blood and saliva has transformative properties, but which is only activated if the human dies with both still in their system."

"You said it has to be the same vampire." Zoe pointed out. "Why?"

"Every vampire's blood and saliva is particular to them. If you had one vampire's saliva while another's blood, it would overload you system. You'd die within an hour." Dan explained, his expression grave. "Vampire blood has healing properties when in a human body. Werewolf bites are fatal to vampires."

"Werewolves?" Zoe asked.

Dan nodded. "They're real. The full moon only controls their first change and it's not pretty. I've seen a wolf's first change, and . . . I could _see_ each of his bones breaking. The change only comes on from having a near-death experience and you already have the Gene."

Zoe took a deep breath, reaching out and curling her fingers around the hilt of the hunting knife, as if she were going to pull it out of the ground.

"That'd be useless." Dam said. "The stake _has_ to be wooden."

"I could separate your head from neck with it." Zoe said without looking at him.

"Zoe, listen." Dan said, moving so he was crouched in front of her so he was eye level with her. When Zoe refused to meet his eyes, Dan grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him. "Zoe, I'm not going to hurt you. You know that."

Zoe tore away from Dan's grasp, standing up. She pulled the hunting knife out of the ground and as she wiped the mud off it, she looked down at Dan. "I won't tell anyone, Dan, but I don't know you. Not anymore."

Then Zoe turned and walked back the way they'd come without looking back at Dan once. Dan watched her go with sad eyes, unable to stop himself from remembering the way her mouth had felt on his. He sighed and sat back on the rock, dropping his head into his hands.

"She'll come around." Matthew said, moving out of the shadows and sitting beside Dan on his rock.

Dan lifted his head and grunted. "She threatened me with a knife, Matt. She's not going to come around."

"It's not like the knife could do anything." Matthew said. "Was it soaked in Holy Water?"

"No."

"Then you're good." Matthew said, smiling. "Just give it time."

"You don't know her like I do." Dan said. "She's not going to come around. I think that's the last time she's ever going to speak directly to me."


	6. Chapter 6

Dan trudged to school in a daze the next day. He'd drained two foxes and one of his parents' blood bags the night before. Usually he didn't like to drink a whole blood bag because he was afraid he'd get addicted to the stuff again and start attacking people. But that night he'd been upset and angry, so he hadn't cared much, but he hadn't guzzled the stuff down. He'd sat in the attic, taking small sips of the sweet elixir, surrounded by all the stuff that Katarina and Ezekiel Morgan had collected over the centuries.

Even as Dan walked to school, high on blood with every sense alert, he couldn't help remembering the expression on Zoe's face when she'd walked away from him in the forest. She'd been repulsed, angry, hurt and above all, scared. He couldn't get that look out of his head, the way all those emotions had swirled in those pretty green eyes of hers.

All that day, Zoe refused to make contact with Dan at all. She wouldn't meet his eyes, she wouldn't talk to him, she wouldn't even stand next to him.

When Dan trudged home again once school finished, he felt even worse than he had that morning. The only silver lining he could find was that because he'd drunk so much blood the night before, his thirst had been sedated and he hadn't felt the need to rip anyone's neck apart that day.

"You okay?" Matthew asked as he met up with Dan when the blonde was halfway home.

Dan shook his head. "No. She acted as if the very _air I breathe _was poisoned. I told you last night, she's not going to come around."

Matthew sighed. "Do you want me to talk to her?"

Dan shook his head again. "No. If she's going to come around, it's because she wants to. Not because my best friend asked her to."

"She doesn't know we're best friends." Matthew pointed out.

"She will if you sneak in her bedroom at night. After she's finished screaming for the pervert to get out of her room and beating you with a stick." Dan said.

"With a stick?" Matthew asked.

"No." Dan said and Matthew sighed in relief before Dan continued, "She'd do it with her bare hands."

Matthew paled and Dan laughed, slapping Matthew on the shoulder. "There's an easy solution to that, my friend."

"Oh yeah?" Matthew asked, grinning. "What's that?"

"Don't climb in through her window."

* * *

The next few days weren't much different. Dan went to school, was treated like the plague by Zoe, went home wore depressed than he already was and endured Matthew trying to cheer him up before going to bed. Zoe wasn't much better. Despite knowing what he was, what he was capable of, she missed the blonde. She missed the way he made her smile, the way he felt next to her. She kept remembering what it felt like to kiss him, the way his body felt against hers when he held her. She hated what she was doing to him – ignoring him, pushing him away, pretending to hate him – but she couldn't help it. Every time she remembered kissing him, her mind warped the memory, so that when he pulled away, instead of saying that they should get back, he grinned at her, showing that his canines had sharpened into little white daggers. Then, before she could scream, those very teeth would sink into her neck so that her blood exploded into his mouth.

That image was running through her head in English, where she could feel Aneisha's eyes burning into the side of her head. She turned towards her, eyebrows raised. "What?"

Aneisha got out of her seat and moved towards Zoe, pretending that she was getting help from the redhead as she knelt down on the floor with her elbows resting on the desktop. "What's with you and Dan? Lovers' spat?"

"There's no _lovers' spat_." Zoe said. "We're just . . . having a disagreement."

"Zoe, usually a disagreement between you two lasts for two minutes. You're treating Dan like he's a rotting corpse while he looks at you like he's a puppy you've kicked."

Zoe sighed and thought, _Closer to a bat than a puppy, Neish. _But she said, "It's complicated and it's between us. Not you and Tom."

Aneisha looked taken aback, but then she shrugged and moved back to her own seat. Zoe sighed and turned back to her own work. It didn't matter that she was supposed to hate Dan and she couldn't make herself feel that way about him. What mattered was that Dan belonged in the dark, she in the light. And Tom and Aneisha could never know.

**I know this chapter was really, really short and I'm really, really sorry for that. But I needed this filler chapter to be in here so that it could lead to the events of the next chapter. The one'll be longer, I promise!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Okay, before I get on with the story, a quick quthor's note. Just so you guys knoe, I've just gone back to school, so my updates are going to be cut down to only on the weekends. I'm going to try and work it so I update on Friday night and then on Sunday, but I can't make any promises. We'll see.**

* * *

A week later, Zoe was sitting on her bed and doing her physics homework when she heard a knock on the window. Curious, Zoe got up and opened the window to reveal a boy with brown hair and wide brown eyes.

"Zoe?" The boy asked, blinking at her.

"Do I know you?" Zoe asked.

"I'm Matthew. I'm a friend of Dan's." He said. "Can I come in?"

"Do you drink blood?" Zoe asked. When Matthew shook his head, she stepped aside so he could get in. Matthew dropped into her room and Zoe pulled the window shut behind him.

"If you're here because Dan – "

"Dan didn't tell me to do anything." Matthew interrupted, turning to look at her. "In fact, he specifically told me _not _to come here because you'd scream for the pervert to get out of your room and beat me with your bare hands."

Zoe raised an eyebrow. "So why are you here?"

"Because Dan's not what you think he is." Matthew said.

"I know what he is." Zoe said defensively. She knew where this was going - Matthew was trying to get her to change her mind about Dan. She'd been treating Dan like the plague all week to avoid changing her mind about the blonde.

"No, you _think _you know." Matthew said, pointing a finger at her. "You think Dan's a monster, that he's chosen what he is. This isn't his fault – he was born into it. So he tries to be the best he can. He only drinks from animals, he works for . . . whoever he works for. Zoe, you don't understand. Dan was always happy to just be a vampire, until he met you. He wanted to be worthy of you. He loves you and this . . . Distance that you're putting between you and him? It feels like a secnd death to him."

Zoe sighed. "Matthew - "

"I'm not saying that you need to rush over there now and admit your burning, passionate love for him right now." Matthew said. "But just think about it. He was willing to change himself for you without you even knowing. He's a good person, Zoe; he's not a monster."

He moved to the window and Zoe said, "Uh, Matt? You said that he loves me. Did he - did Dan tell you that?"

Matthew shook his head, pulling the window open. "We've been best friends since I was eight. He didn't have to tell me, Zoe. I can see it."

With that, he dropped out of the window and Zoe raced to it after him, watching as Matthew took off down the street at an unnaturally fast pace. Okay, so he wasn't a vampire. So what _was_ he?

Sighing, Zoe pulled the window shut again, glancing at her half-finished homework. She closed her books and set them on her desk - her mind was too distacted now to worry about trigonometry. Zoe turned on her iPod, listening as 'Give Me Love' by Ed Sheeran started playing. Zoe smiled, but she changed the song, listening as 'Look After You' by The Fray started playing through the speakers. Against her will, Zoe remembered each time Dan had saved her, protected her, kept her safe and looked after her.

_"He's a good person, Zoe; he's not a monster," _Matthew had said.

As she sifted through her memories, Zoe wondered if maybe he was right.

* * *

The next day, Zoe continued her façade of hating Dan. Now it was harder than ever, because she'd made her choice. After spending hours upon hours mulling it over the night before, Zoe had made her choice. She knew what she wanted and she knew that she owed it to Dan for him to know what she wanted - to hear it come from her mouth instead of making him guess.

But it would have to wait until after school - there was no place safe enough to for them to talk without being overheard. Even HQ, which was the most private place in the whole school, but this was something that she coudn't risk anyone, even Frank, overhearing. So Zoe impatiently suffered through her classes, waiting for the moment when the bell rang and she could put her plan into action.

When the bell rang, Zoe rushed out of the school gates, almost slipping and dropping her bag as she turned the corner. She adjusted her bag on her shoulder as she ran, grinning at the feel of her heart thudding against her chest in exhileration and excitement. Now that she was free, she suddenly couldn't wait to put her plan into action.

* * *

Dan sighed, lying on his back. Matthew, sitting on the couch and typing on his phone, paused and looked up at Dan. Maybe it was his imagination, but Dan couldn't help thinking that the brunette looked slightly pleased with himself. Dan shook it off as Matthew returned to his phone, pressing lightly on the phone screen before placing it down so that it was balanced on his thigh.

"Who are you talking to?" Dan asked.

Matthew hesitated, averting his gaze for a few moments before answering. "A girl. Louise. And trust me, she's just as good looking as your Zoe."

"She's not _my_ Zoe." Dan replied. "She won't even talk to me."

"We'll see." Matthew replied. He picked up his phone as it buzzed. Dan rolled his eyes, putting his hands behind his head and looking up at the ceiling. For some reason, girls seemed to find werewolves less frightening than they did vampires. Dan supposed that that was fair - werewolves didn't drink blood.

Dan was pulled out of his comparision of what made vampires so different from werewolves as he heard someone knocking on the door.

"Your girl?" Matthew asked, looking up from his phone as Dan scrambled to his feet.

"No way." Dan said. "She's being avoiding me all week."

"Does she use strawberry-scented shampoo?" Matthew asked, getting up and walking out in the direction of the back door. Dan knew what he was doing - he would go out the back door and jump the fence before wandering into the forest. Then he would Change, turning into a massive wolf as he ran back to his own house. Dan drew in a deep breath, tuning into those inhumanly sharp senses that came from being one of the undead. Then he caught it - the unmistakable scent of artifical strawberries. The smell of Zoe's shampoo. Underlying that, Dan could smell her blood, sweet as candy.

Curious, Dan moved to the front door, pulling it open as Zoe knocked on the door again. Her hand paused in mid-air as the door was wrenched open, green eyes taking in Dan's appearance as she bit her bottom lip. Dan's hair had been pushed off his face and his blue eyes sparkled with a whole range of emotions. He was wearing jeans and a black t-shirt that hugged his chest in just the right way - or the wrong way, depending on how you saw it. He looked good - anyone could see that, but his good looks were blurring Zoe's thoughts, making it hard to think.

"Zoe?" Dan asked, bringing her back to reality. Before Zoe could lose her nerve, she pushed herself forward into him and pressed her mouth firmly against his. She heard him make a small noise of surprise and this surprised Zoe. Vampires had fast reflexes and their senses were more acute than any human's. The idea that she could have surprised him was kind of surreal.

Dan got over his surprise quickly, pushing his mouth gently against Zoe's as his arms wrapped around her waist, holding her carefully. He pulled them both inside, kicking the door shut behind them so roughly that it rattled on its hinges, but neither Dan nor Zoe noticed - Zoe's arms were around Dan's neck, holding him close as Dan continued to kiss her soft mouth while trying to maintain the thin hold he had on his control, on the urge to sink his teeth into her soft neck.


	8. Chapter 8

_"Zoe?" Dan asked, bringing her back to reality. Before Zoe could lose her nerve, she pushed herself forward into him and pressed her mouth firmly against his._

_She heard him make a small noise of surprise and this surprised Zoe. Vampires had fast reflexes and their senses were more acute than any human's. The idea that she could surprised him was kind of surreal._

_Dan got over his surprise quickly, pushing his mouth gently against Zoe's as his arms wrapped around her waist, holding her carefully. He pulled them both inside, shoving the door shut behind them so roughly that it rattled on its hinges, but neither Dan nor Zoe noticed - Zoe's arms were around Dan's neck, holding him close as Dan continued to kiss her soft mouth while trying to maintain the thin hold he had on his control, on the urge to sink his teeth into her soft neck_.

* * *

Just as his control was starting to slip, Dan pulled away, his teeth turning to daggers. He turned his face away so Zoe couldn't see his eyes, as black as night, and the veins appearing at his temples. He knew that no matter what, she'd see the ones on his neck. Nothing could help that.

Dan expected Zoe to push him away, to turn away in revulsion. Instead she placed one hand on either side of his face, her thumbs brushing against his cheek bones.

"Dan, please. Don't." Zoe said softly. "Don't turn away from me."

Dan took a deep breath, but he turned towards her so that those veins and his eyes were on full display. He watched her, waiting for the revulsion, for the horror to cross her beautiful features. Instead, Zoe's eyes filled with sympathy as she took in his appearance - the dark blue veins at his temples and neck, disappearing under his hair and under the collar of his shirt. When Zoe looked into his eyes, she realised that she could see her reflection in them. There was no blue in them at all - his black pupils had completely swallowed it. Zoe realised that Dan was shaking with the effort that it cost him to not grab her and sink his teeth into her neck and that he wasn't looking at her face, but his eyes were focused on the vein in her neck, pulsing with her heartbeat.

Zoe let her hands slip from Dan's face and he squeezed his eyes shut, taking slow, deep breaths. Zoe watched as the veins at Dan's temples and around his neck slowly disappeared. His shoulders relaxed and he opened his eyes, his pupils receding to their normal size.

"Better?" Zoe asked softly and Dan nodded. He'd pushed the need for blood back, but he knew that he'd need to hunt in the next couple of hours.

"We should probably talk." Dan said. Zoe nodded and followed after him as he led her to a staircase in the hallway. She expected to see a corridoor when they reached the top of the stairs, but Zoe instead saw that they were obviously in the attic.

"I love it up here." Dan said, turning the light on. Zoe looked around and immediately saw that he obviously spent a lot of time up there. The room had usual messiness that belonged to a teenage guy's room - but it wasn't filled with the usual clutter a normal teenage boy's room would have. There was boxes and boxes, all filled with stuff from different ages. Obviously, this was the stuff that Ezekiel and Katarina Morgan had collected over the centuries.

"So I like it in a forest and you like being up in a dark attic. Sounds fair."

Dan smiled fondly at her. "I only like it up here because this is the only place I can truly be myself."

Zoe's brow furrowed as Dan moved to sit on the red couch, next to the window.

"What do you mean?" Zoe asked, moving to sit with him on the couch. She sat with her back against the armrest and her legs crossed.

"I don't really . . . belong in either the human world or with the vampires." Dan said. "I obviously don't belong in the human world becuase, I'm a vampire. But vampires seem to think that my drinking animal blood is just . . . A phase that I'll grow out of. But I know that it's not." His expression darkened slightly, but then he glanced at Zoe and his expression brightened again. "When I first Turned, I drank human blood. I didn't have any issues with it - until I met you. I saw that you'd grown up in a place filled with such horrible people but you were such a good person and I hated you. And then I started to fall in love with you."

He glanced at Zoe, waiting for a look of horror to cloud her features. When it didn't, he said, "You can leave anytime you want, Zoe. I'm not going to stop you."

Zoe's jaw set. "I'm not going to leave, Dan." She reached towards him and took his face in her hands, watching as a faint tracing of veins appeared at his temples and his pupils dialated slightly. After a few moments, the veins disappeared and his pupils returned to their normal size.

"Dan, if I was going to run from you, I wouldn't have come here tonight. I wouldn't have turned up at your doorstep last Sunday demanding answers. Dan, I know I must be crazy, but I _trust_ you. Last night, I realised that even though I know what you are and I can guess what you're capable of, how much I trusted you when I thought you were human - it hasn't gone anywhere. I still trust you with my life."

"That's ironic, since that's _exactly_ what you're doing now." Dan muttered.

Zoe ignored the comment. "Dan, I don't care that you're a vampire because I love you."

Dan's head snapped to look at her, blue eyes widening in shock. Then he moved so he was leaning over her with Zoe's big green eyes staring into his and Dan pressed his mouth against Zoe's with a bruising pressure. His hands, however, were a stark contrast as they glided across her hips gently. When Dan pulled back, blue eyes staring into green, he smiled down at her. That smile, along with the look in his eye, told Zoe everything she needed to know. Dan slowly climbed off Zoe, settling back in his originally position. Zoe stretched out on the couch so her feet were resting in his lap.

"So what made you change your mind about me?" Dan asked.

"Your friend Matthew, actually." Zoe said. "He appeared at my bedroom window last night."

Dan grinned as if this were the funniest thing he'd heard all day.

"What?" Zoe asked.

"Nothing. Inside joke." Dan said, still grinning.

* * *

Dan and Zoe stayed up there in the attic, talking and kissing until Zoe fell asleep on Dan's shoulder. Dan pulled Zoe into his lap, putting one hand under her knees and the other behind her back. Then he stood, cradling Zoe's sleeping form against his chest as he walked down the stairs. Zoe muttered in her sleep, resting her head against Dan's shoulder. Dan smiled as he pushed his bedroom door open with his foot, flicking the light on with his elbow. He placed Zoe on the bed, pulling the blankets back and over her body. Zoe sighed in content and burrowed into the blankets, pulling them up to her chin. Dan smiled and pulled out a peice of paper, quickly writing a note in the intricate, old-fashioned handwriting that he'd picked up from Katarina.

_'Zoe._

_I know you'll probably sleep through the night, but I thought I'd leave this, just in case. I have to go hunting, but I'll be back. I swear._

_I love you._

_Dan.'_

Dan placed the note on the bedside table, dropping a kiss onto Zoe's forehead. Zoe smiled in her sleep, almost as if she knew what was happening around her. Dan turned away from the sight of Zoe wrapped up his blankets, moving towards the window. He pushed it open and slipped out, closing it after him so that the cold wind wouldn't enter the room while he was gone.


	9. Chapter 9

Dan let the rabbit drop to the ground, looking up at Matthew, who was sitting in one of the lower branches of the tree above him.

"What, are you stalking me now?" Dan asked as Matthew scrambled out of the tree.

"No need to, Danny Boy." Matthew said. "We've known each other for nine years. I don't need to stalk you."

"Fine, then." Dan said. "Tell me what happened with Zoe."

Matthew shrugged.

Dan sighed, but he told him what had happened since he left. When he told Matthew about Zoe being asleep in his bed, Matthew got this knowing look in his eye and Dan shoved him into a tree.

"It's not like that and you know it." Dan told him.

Matthew shrugged. "Yeah, because you won't. You won't do _that_ with her because you're scared that you'll hurt her."

"Thank you." Dan said sarcastically. "You should steal the school counsellor's job."

Matthew rolled his eyes. "My point _is_ . . . Zoe's strong. For a human. You'd never _get_ hurt her."

"Did you figure that out before or after you climbed in her bedroom window?" Dan asked, but he was grinning. Matthew flushed, pushing brown hair out of his eyes. "She didn't scream for the pervert to get out of her room."

"No, I may have exaggerated that a little bit." Dan said, runnng his tongue over his teeth. The Thirst was starting up again and even as he was talking to Matthew, he was listening. Watching.

Matthew broke off from whatever he was saying as the traces of bloodlust appeared on Dan's face and he lunged to the side, tackling a little bunny.

Matthew grimaced and looked away as he heard Dan bite into the small animal. He could accept that his best friend was a vampire and that he had to drink blood in order to survive. That didn't mean he wanted to see the blonde attacking defenseless bunnies in the forest.

_Better the bunnies than the girl in his bedroom,_ a voice whispered in the back of Matthew's head. Matthew agreed with that. He knew that if Dan hurt Zoe, the blonde would never forgive himself. He'd literally spend eternity wallowing in self-loathing.

Matthew looked back as Dan finished off the rabbit, quickly digging it a small grave and placing the bunny in it before covering it over again. Then Dan stood, glancing up at the sky. He didn't need to - his natural vampire instincts told him that sunrise wasn't for a few hours yet, but he needed to get back to Zoe.

"Go." Matthew said without Dan saying anything to him. "I know you want to get back to her."

Dan smiled, clapping him on the shoulder. "Thanks Matt."

Matthew nodded as Dan took off, back in the direction he'd come. Dan vaulted himself over the fence and pulled his bedroom window open - when your parents were vampires that had been around since the Dark Ages, you didn't tend to bother with locking your windows at night. When he landed on the soft carpet of his bedroom, Dan found Zoe sitting up in his bed, the blankets at her hips. He noticed that she was wearing one of his jackets and Dan pulled the window shut, moving towards her. Zoe smiled up at him as Dan climbed onto the bed, so they were facing each other. Zoe wordlessly held up the note and placed it on the bedside table, pulling the blankets tighter around her as she shivered.

"Here." Dan said, grabbing a thicker jacket from his cupboard and placing it around her shoulders.

"Thank you." Zoe said, smiling up at him as Dan sat beside her on the bed. That kind of defeated the purpose of the jacket, but Zoe didn't mind. She placed her head on his shoulder and Dan wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"Hey, why aren't your parents ever around?" Zoe asked.

"Every few days they got out hunting." Dan said.

"Hunting? But there's the forest right - _oh_."

"You okay?" Dan asked.

"Yeah, just . . . Still adjusting go the fact that my boyfriend and his parents are vampires."

Dan kissed the top of her head. "Hmm. It would be."

"Have you always known? About your parents?"

"As long as I've known how to keep a secret, I've known about vampires and werewolves. I remember when I first found out. I was so scared of my parents that I wouldn't come out of my room for days."

"So you weren't always like this?"

"Of course not." Dan said, brushing her hair away from her face. "From the time I was born to my sixteenth birthday, I was a perfectly normal kid."

"What happened when you turned sixteen?" Zoe asked. She leaned her head against the headboard, watching Dan from underneath lowered eyelids.

"When I hit sixteen, I started to feel the Change coming on. Even though I can go in sunlight, my natural instinct is to sleep during the day. So I started to get that. I started sleeping later and I started to react more strongly to sunlight. And I started to get angry a lot easier. But that - that was nothng compared to what happened when I hit seventeen. That's when I really felt it - the urge to Turn. Within a week, I was a vampire."

"How did you Turn? It can't work the normal way, could it?" Zoe asked.

"No. It can't." Dan said. His arm slipped from her shoulders to her hand, his fingers wrapping around hers. At some point, Zoe had put her legs across his but she still had her head against the headboard, although her eyes were no longer half-closed.

"Vampire children have a destiny to be vampires, one day. When they start to feel the urge to Turn, they find themselves drawn to blood more and more. To complete the transition from semi-human to vampire, we have to drink human blood."

"Why human?"

"Humans have a stronger life force than say, a deer, because they're practically at the top of every food chain. That's why most vampires drink and kill humans. The life force is stronger and they don't have to feed as much. But for anyone turning into a vampire, the first feed always has to be human."

Zoe nodded, her eyes cast downward. She looked like she wanted to ask something, but she was afraid of what the anwser might be. Dan turned, sitting in such a way that they were facing each other.

"You want to know if I've killed." Dan said.

Zoe nodded slowly.

Dan took a deep breath. "When I first Turned, I was uncontrolable. I let the Thirst control me and I was hunting nearly every night. But no matter how many humans I drank from, I couldn't bring myself to drain them. Until this one night, I met a pretty redhead. I drank from her and I killed her."

Zoe nodded once, taking a deep breath. She pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around her knees, even as Dan kept talking.

"At first, I wasn't fazed by it. But then, what I'd done set in. I knew that my Thirst was stronger than most and I couldn't keep hurting people. So I switched to the animal diet, but I have a little human each day, so I still have some of the strength I'd have if I were on a complete human diet."

Zoe nodded. "How long ago did all this happen?"

"About a year ago. I thought the girl was dead and she's supposed to be. I found out a while ago that she's alive."

Zoe took a deep breath. He'd thought he'd killed, but he hadn't. He wasn't the monster his nature wanted him to be.

"Do you know what the girl's name was?"

Dan nodded solemnly. "Kloe."


	10. Chapter 10

**Okay, before I get started, I have two things I want to say. First, I got a review that said about Dan losing control in HQ. I actually plan to have the whole team, including Frank, know about Dan's true nature, but there's a plan to it. It is a great idea and if I ever do another vampire M. story, I'll definitely use it. It just doesn't fit in too well with this story, because Frank doesn't have a key part in the storyline for the moment. Now, for my second peice of news. Quite a few of you already know this, but I'm going to say it for those of you who don't. After much consideration and thought, I've decided to make Thirst into a trilogy.**

**With that, I give you chapter 10!**

* * *

_"Do you know what the girl's name was?" _

_"Kloe."_

* * *

"Oh, my God." Zoe whimpered. She stared at Dan, who watched her with sad eyes.

"She doesn't remember." Dan told her.

"Why?"

"It's something that happens when we feed on human blood." Dan explained. "If we don't want the human to remember, they don't."

Zoe nodded, but she didn't say anything. Cautiously, Dan placed his hand on her arm, rubbing her skin gently with his thumb. Zoe sighed and looked up at him, a small smile playing on her mouth.

"You didn't kill her." Zoe said. "That's what matters."

Dan smiled sadly. "I'm glad you think so."

Zoe moved towards him, her hands sliding up his shoulders and around back of his neck, tangling in his blonde hair. She kissed him gently, feeling his cool skin against her own as his mouth pressed back against her's and his arms circled her waist, pulling her closer. Zoe smiled into the kiss, her hands sliding across his shoulders. Dan shivered and pulled away slowly, resting his forehead against Zoe's.

"You didn't kill her. That's what matters." Zoe repeated. This time, Dan believed her. A little. Dan pressed a kiss to Zoe's forehead and she flushed, looking down and smiling shyly. She started to say something, but an older female voice cut her off.

"Dan! We're back!"

The bedroom door opened, revealing a beautiful brunette woman and a taller, sandy-haired man. Zoe noticed that although the woman and Dan didn't share many facial features, they did have the the same piercing dark blue eyes. It was impossible, however, not to notice that Dan and the man were closely related. They had the same hair colour, the same strong jaw, the same _everything_.

The woman's eyes travelled to Zoe. Dan half-expected Zoe to look away shyly, but instead Zoe turned so she was facing Katarina and Ezekiel.

"So this is the human?" Katarina asked.

"The _human_ has a name." Dan replied.

"I'm Zoe." Zoe said, as Dan swung his body around so he was sitting beside Zoe on the edge of the bed.

Katarina sighed and muttered something like, "First a werewolf best friend and now a human girlfriend."

"So I assume that you know." Ezekiel said. Zoe nodded once and Katarina sighed.

"That's enough, Katarina." Ezekiel said. "I'm sure the girl - I mean, Zoe - means us no harm. I'm sure she won't tell anyone anything."

Zoe nodded. "I won't say anything to _anybody_. Who would believe me, anyway?"

The bitterness faded from Katarina's expression as she looked down at the girl sitting beside her son. "You're right about that, sweetheart. Nobody believes in this stuff anymore."

Zoe nodded, glancing at Dan, who smiled and pressed a kiss to her temple. As Katarina watched them, her expression softened. Watching the two of them reminded her of when she and Ezekiel were much, much younger.

Ezekiel looked like he wanted to say something more, but Katarina tapped his arm and walked out. Ezekiel looked surprised, but he followed after her without a word.

"Well, that was . . . interesting." Zoe murmured.

Dan smiled, brushing Zoe's fringe out of her eyes. "Yeah, Mother is very . . . interesting."

Zoe smiled and kissed Dan's shoulder. "I'm sure she's not that bad."

"Oh, she's not. As long as you don't provoke her." Dan said, getting up. "You hungry?"

"You have food?" Zoe asked, following him into the kitchen. When he pulled out eggs, bacon and a pan, Zoe's eyebrows shot up to her hairline. "You can _cook_?"

"I've spent half my life cooking my own meals, Zo. My parents are Old Ones - they haven't eaten food in their own home since the Middle Ages."

"But how can you eat?" Zoe asked. "Since vampires are technically, you know . . . Dead."

Dan shrugged. "I don't really know how. I just know that if I keep a healthy amount of blood in my system, I can eat food."

"And if you don't?" Zoe asked.

"It is very, very painful." Dan said.

Zoe reached out and touched his shoulder as he cooked the eggs and bacon. "What, like being splashed with Holy Water painful?"

"I've been splashed with Holy Water. Eating when I haven't fed . . . I imagine that to be like what I imagine swallowing Holy Water to feel like."

"Really painful, then." Zoe said.

Dan nodded. "Think of swallowing knives. _That's_ what I imagine swallowing Holy Water to feel like."

"Ouch." Zoe said softly. Dan smiled, flipping the eggs. "That was the understatement of the year."

Zoe smiled, tapping Dan's hip with her toe. Dan started to say something, but he broke off as Zoe's phone started ringing.

"Oh, no." Zoe said, pulling the phone out of her jeans pocket and looking at the caller ID.

"Is everything okay?" Dan asked.

"Uh, yeah. It's my foster parents. I'll be right back." Zoe told him, pressing a kiss to his mouth and jumping off the conter, moving out the back door as she accepted the call. Dan looked over his shoulder at her, but with him and two Old vampires in the house, there wasn't much that could grab her and get very far so he turned back to the food.

"Hello?" Zoe asked, closing the back door behind her and wrappng the arm that wasn't holding her phone to her ear around herself.

"Zoe!" Nina, her foster mother's voice said. "Where are you?"

"I'm at Dan's."

"You're at . . ." Nina trailed off, sounding relieved. Zoe couldn't help thinking that if Nina knew what Dan and his parents really were, she'd start screaming for Zoe to come home right that minute.

"You're okay?" Nina asked.

Zoe nodded and then, remembering that Nina couldn't hear her, she said, "I'm okay. I'm fine."

"Okay, well, next time you decide to stay over at your boyfriend's house, please tell me. I don't expect much, Zoe. I just expect to know where you are."

"Yes, Nina. I'm sorry." Zoe said.

"It's okay, Zoe. Just . . . remember to tell me next time, okay?"

"Okay, bye, Nina." Zoe said, hanging up and shoving the phone back into her pocket. She unwrapped her arm from around herself and pushed her hair out of her face as she walked back inside. Dan was putting food on plates as Zoe moved to stand beside him.

"Everything okay?" Dan asked, smiling down at her.

Zoe nodded. "Yeah. Nina was just worried because I didn't call last night."

Dan and Zoe were just finishing when Ezekiel and Katarina re-emerged. Ezekiel was wearing jeans and t-shirt, but Katarina was wearing a lomg, flowing dress.

"What's the occasion?" Zoe asked.

"Nothing." Dan told her. "Mum just likes to wear stuff like that because it reminds her of the Middle Ages."

"Not to remind me of the Middle Ages, Daniel." Katarina said softly. "To remind me of the person I was back then. To remind me of what it was like to be human."

Zoe glanced at Dan. He looked down, taking a deep breath. In that moment, Zoe knew that the one thing in the entire world that he wanted more than her was the one thing she could never give him.

He wanted to be human.


	11. Chapter 11

That afternoon, Dan dropped Zoe off at her house. She did want to stay with him again that night, but she needed time to process everything she'd learned about. And Katarina Morgan scared her a little.

Thinking about Katarina brought Zoe's thoughts back to Dan. Zoe smiled, biting her lip as she leaned against her bedroom door, remembering how it had felt to kiss him, to be held by him. She thought back to when she'd figured out what he was. She'd been so scared of him, so scared that he'd hurt her. But now, she felt so stupid for thinking that – he was Dan. It didn't matter _what_ he was, just _who_ he was. He was the one who protected her, cared for her and kept her safe. She'd seen it in his eyes – seen the guilt that he carried with him over Kloe, even though he _knew _he hadn't killed her. She knew now that it didn't matter what he was. He wouldn't hurt her, no matter what. She's been stupid to think otherwise.

Zoe thought back to the way he'd looked when he turned away from her. When she'd made him look at her, to not hide from her, she'd expected the changes in his face to scare her. Instead, it had taken on its own kind of beauty.

* * *

As Zoe walked out of her house on Monday morning to go to school, someone jumped out of the bushes and caught her around the waist.

"Dan." Zoe said, recognising the hands that held her.

Dan set her down. "It's more fun when you're kicking and screaming in a bikini."

Zoe smiled up at him. "What makes it fun? The kicking and screaming or the bikini?"

A smile tugged at the corner of Dan's lips and his blue eyes twinkled with mischief. "The bikini. Definitely the bikini."

Zoe aimed a kick at his shin, but he danced out of the way. "You are such a guy."

"And you kick like a girl." Dan said.

"Oh yeah? Do I do this like a girl?"

Before Dan could ask what she meant, Zoe grabbed his arm and pulled him to her, pressing her mouth against his. She felt his surprise but then his mouth moved against hers.

"Come on. We'd better get going." Dan said. Zoe noticed that his pupils were slightly dialated.

"So your lover's spat is over?" Aneisha asked as Dan and Zoe walked into school, hand in hand.

Zoe smiled as Dan asked, "Do you have to call it that?"

"Why not? You're lovers and you had a spat." Aneisha replied.

"Why don't you call it a fight like a normal person?"

"Because 'lover's spat' has a better ring to it."

"And Neish here isn't normal." Tom added. Aneisha kicked him in the shin and glared at him. Almost immediately, a strong breeze picked up around them, ruffling their hair. Aneisha cast a worried glance around and the wind died down again.

"Strong wind." Zoe commented.

Dan cast a curious look at Aneisha, who looked away guiltily.

* * *

Zoe went home with Dan after school and they found themselves again in the attic. Zoe found that the boxes that littered the room were full of items from all different eras.

"Oh, cool." Zoe said, pulling out a Polaroid camera and taking a photo of Dan, who was sitting on the couch. She waited for the photo to develop and then grinned, placing both the photo and the camera aside before moving on. As she dug deeper into the box, she found a jewellery box. Cradling it carefully, Zoe sat on the floor and opened it as she began to sort through the jewellery in it. Zoe's eyes lit up as she pulled out a necklace with a blue oval-shaped stone on a delicate chain out of the box. Over the top of the blue, there was two silver swords crossed over each other and the blue stone had lines on it that made it look like the sea.

Suddenly Dan was at her side, kneeling down beside her.

"What is it?" Zoe asked.

"The Morgan family crest." Dan explained. Zoe glanced at him, her fingers tracing the beautiful peice of jewellery in her slender fingers.

"Morgan means 'fighters by the sea.'" Dan explained. "I've got one too. See?"

He reached into his shirt and pulled out a ring on a silver chain. He showed her the top of the ring, where she could see the same design as on the necklace. Zoe smiled and nodded as Dan dropped the ring back under his shirt. "It's a bit chunky to wear in high school - people would wonder why I've got a family heirloom at seventeen."

Zoe nodded, turning back to the necklace as Dan asked, "Do you want it?"

"Dan, I can't. It's a family heirloom and it's your Mum's and - "

"Don't be ridiculous." Dan told her. "Mum's got another necklace that she wears twenty-four-seven. If it's up here, she doesn't want it. Turn around." He ordered, taking the necklace from her. Zoe turned, sweeping her hair out of the way as Dan placed the necklace agaims her collarbone and joined the clasp. Zoe touched the crest with her fingers, looking down at it. She realised that the blue of the stone resting against her skin was the same deep blue as Dan's eyes.

"What?" Dan asked as Zoe studied him intently.

"Your eyes are the same colour as the stone." Zoe said. Dan smiled down at her, ducking his head and pressing his mouth to hers gently.


	12. Chapter 12

Smiling, Zoe got up off the floor, placed the jewellery box back in is place and then moved to where stacks of records were sitting next to a record player. She carefully started sorting through them, her eyes brightening when she came up to one tha she liked. Finally Zoe found an old jazz record that Dan didn't recognise and put it on.

"Can you dance with me? Please, Dan?"

Dan sighed and got up. "Fine. But you better remember this because it's never happening again."

Zoe smiled brightly as Dan stepped towards her, one hand clapsing hers while he placed the other on her waist. Zoe placed her other hand on his back, looking up at him uncertainly as he started to lead her into a waltz.

"When I said dance I didn't mean . . . _This_." Zoe said.

"And this is why I don't dance." Dan said. "It's the only way I know and it would raise too many questions as to why I can only waltz."

"Well, that's . . . Nice." Zoe said. Dan smiled down at her. He couldn't help noticing that the necklace looked a lot better on her than it had ever looked on Katarina.

"Ow, ow. Dan, stop." Zoe said after a while, steppng away from him.

"What is it?" Dan asked, immediately worried that he'd misjudged his own strength and crushed her ribs or something.

"My hand's cramped." Zoe said. She massaged the muscles until the discomfort left. The Thirst diverted Dan's gaze to Zoe's wrist, to the the veins that were filled with sweet, human blood that hummed with strength and life. Dan forced himself to breathe through his mouth as he pushed back the Thirst.

"Come on. Let's get you some food." Dan said. Zoe nodded and followed him out, her fingers brushing against the stone hanging from her neck.

When Katarina saw Zoe come downstairs with the necklace on, Zoe expected the Old One to make a snarky remark, but instead she simply smiled, as if to say, _I'm glad he found you._

* * *

When Dan walked Zoe home, they walked through the forest.

"Why were you looking at Aneisha weird? When it got windy at school?" Zoe asked.

"I'm not sure whether it's her, but . . . Every generation a girl is chosen to become a sorceress, to keep the Old Ones in check."

"Just the Old Ones?" Zoe asked.

"Originally, yes. Then, when more vampires were created, they were meant to keep the world safe from all now there hasn't been a known Sorceress for centuries." Dan explained.

"So you think Aneisha might be the Chosen sorceress?"

Dan nodded. "If she starts showing signs, can you tell me? My parents have dealt with Chosen soreresses before and we can help her. It'll be a lot to deal with on her own."

Zoe nodded.

"Dan!" Someone yelled. Dan and Zoe both turned towards the voice as Matthew materialised out of the trees, a cheeky grin on his face.

"Hi, Matt." Zoe said as Dan, noticing the look in Matthew's eyes, cast the werewolf a sharp look.

"Matt, _don't_." Dan said. Before Zoe could ask what he meant, Matthew leaped into the air. By the time he hit the ground, he was a large wolf with chocolate-brown fur. Zoe screamed and stumbled backwards, falling over. She tried to hide her face in the leg of Dan's jeans as Matthew crawled towards her on his stomach, whining a little. Then, when he was close enough, he placed his big, stocky head on Zoe's slender leg. Zoe, breathing heavily and trembling violently with fear, managed to turn her face away from the safety of denim and the smell of Dan's cologne, to the massive wolf that had been a teenage boy only seconds before.

Matthew whined again, his eyes big and silver, like two little UFO's. As Dan knelt down beside her, Zoe reached out and with a shaking hand, placed her palm against the top of Matthew's head. Matthew closed his eyes in content, rolling over onto his back on the forest floor. Then, when Zoe didn't rub his tummy, he heaved himself to his feet and changed back into his fully clothed human form.

"I don't know how that works, but that is cool." Dan said. He glanced at Zoe, who was staring at Matthew with a shocked expression. "Zo? You okay?"

"Yeah. I'm okay." Zoe said. "So what? All the myths about vampires and werewolves being mortal enemies - they're fake?"

"They're supposed to be real." Dan said. "But we've been best friends for ten years. We just have to be careful that he doesn't bite me."

"Why?" Zoe asked.

"If I bite him - or any vampire, for that matter, no matter what form I'm in, that vampire will die an excrusiatingly slow and painful death."

Zoe looked between the two boys. "Isn't there a cure?"

Without a word, Dan got up and walked over to one of the many trees surrounding them. He easily broke off a branch, so that he now had a piece of wood as long as his forearm, with a sharp pointed end. He turned to Zoe, who was watching him with an unreadable expression.

"This only cure is this," Dan said, gesturing to the piece of wood, "here."

With that, he pressed the point of the stake against his chest, over the point where his unbeating heart lay. Zoe stared at him as Dan threw the wooden stake into the air and then simulatously brought his arms down and his right leg up, easily snapping the stake in two against his knee.

"But vampires and werewolves can be friends." Matthew said as Dan sat beside Zoe. "Dan here helped me through my first Change."

Zoe turned to Dan. "That werewolf that you saw Change. That was him, wasn't it?"

Dan nodded as Matthew said, "The stuff about full moons? Most of it's fake. It's only on the first full moon after the wetewolf gene is activated that we have to Change. After that, sure, we want to Change on a full moon, but we don't have to."

"You said it has to be activated." Zoe said.

Matthew nodded. "A near-death experience. Mine was nearly being killed by Katarina and Ezekiel Morgan. Daniel here saved me."

Zoe counted back the years. Dan had told her that he and Matthew had met when Dan helped him through something particularly difficult. She hadn't imagined thatt that would be saving some kid he barely knew from his own parents at the ripe old age of seven years old.

"Come on." Dan said, getting up and helping Zoe to her feet. "We've got ro get you home."

Then, as Zoe brushed the twigs from her clothes, Dan turned to Matthew. "You. Need to go home. I think you've scared enough girls for one night."

Matthew grinned at him before turning and running off into the forest, so fast that he seemed to melt into the forest.

* * *

When Zoe walked into school the next day, Aneisha bounded towards her without a word and snatched at the necklace hanging from her neck. Zoe leaned forward so the delicate clasp on the chain wouldn't snap as Aneisha examined the blue stone.

"What is it? It's ugly." Aneisha said, letting it drop from her fingers.

"It's not ugly." Zoe said, straightening up. "It's a Morgan family heirloom."

"Morgan . . . Fine, then how come Dan doesn't have one?"

"Actually, I do." Dan said, pulling out his ring on its chain and showing Aneisha. Aneisha made a face at him and Dan grinned, kissing Zoe on the head and then moving off to go talk to Tom.

"Zoe, are you free Friday night?" Aneisha asked. Suddenly the mocking in her expression was gone, leaving her brown eyes serious.

"Yeah. Why?"

"Can you come over? I - I have something I want to talk to you about."

Zoe nodded. "I'll be there. I promise."

Across the yard, she caught Dan's intense blue gaze. She met it and smiled gently, knowing that Dan had heard every word of their conversation.


	13. Chapter 13

On Friday night, Zoe turned up at Aneisha's front door with a smile. Aneisha opened the door with a tired smile and let Zoe in. Zoe followed Aneisha up to her room, where she dumped her stuff on the floor while Aneisha sa on the bed.

"Okay, what's going on with you?" Zoe asked, sitting beside the girl. "You've been jumpy all week and you look scared."

Aneisha sighed and looked up at her friend through her eyelashes. "Zoe . . . Do you believe in magic?"

Zoe considered her answer carefully before she anwsered it. Of course she could believe in magic - her boyfriend was a vampire and his best friend was a werewolf. Said boyfriend's parents were vampires that had been around for over a thousand years. Then Zoe remembered what Dan had said about the Chosen Sorceresses.

"Yes." Zoe said. "Aneisha, what's this about?"

"Please don't tie me up and burn me until I show you." Aneisha said. She glanced at the Morgan family crest dangling from its chain around Zoe's neck and then closed her eyes. Zoe stared at her friend, worried, oblivious to what her necklace was doing.

At the back of her neck, as if done by invisible fingers, her necklace unclapsed itself. Instead of falling into Zoe's lap like it should have, the necklace floated in midair, crossing the distance between the two girls and only stopping when it dropped into Aneisha's open palm.

When Aneisha opened her eyes, she looked between the necklace and Zoe, her brown eyes wide with fear.

"The other day . . ." Zoe said, "when you glared at Tom and there was that gust of wind . . . That wasn't freak wind, was it?"

Aneisha shook her head, tears sparkling in her eyes. "That was me. I'm scared, Zoe. I don't know what to do."

Zoe hugged her tightly, letting Aneisha cry into her shoulder. When Aneisha pulled away, brushing tears off her cheeks, she handed Zoe back her necklace. Zoe put it back on as Aneisha asked, her voice small like a child's, "Zoe, what am I going to do?"

"I don't know. But I do know something that we can do that might help."

"Zoe, please." Aneisha begged. "I'm freaking out right here."

Zoe ignored the feeling in her gut that this was going to be the worst idea of the century. Instead, she took a deep breath and said, "I'm going to call Dan."

Aneisha's brow furrowed in confusion. "Dan?"

"Dan's family has . . . experience with this kind of stuff." Zoe explained. "I think he'll know what to do about this."

It was the closest to the truth that Zoe could give her, but Aneisha still looked worried, so Zoe hugged her again. "It'll be okay. I promise."

Aneisha nodded against her shoulder and Zoe let her go, pulling her phone out of her pocket as she stepped out of Aneisha's bedroom, leaning against the wall as she shut the door behind her. As fast as her clumsy, human fingers would allow, Zoe dialed Dan's number and held the phone to her ear.

"Zoe?" Dan asked. "Is everything okay?"

"Um, well. Not exactly. I think . . . I think you were right. About Aneisha."

Zoe heard Dan's sharp intake of breath. "Tell me."

As best as she could, Zoe described what Aneisha had done with her necklace and how the darker-skinned girl had reacted.

"Shit." Dan muttered when she finished.

"What? Dan, what is it?"

"She's stronger than I thought. Okay, okay. We'll just have to deal with it."

"How are we going to deal with it?" Zoe asked.

"I'm going to come over now with Tom and we're going to try and see how stromg she is - what she can do so far. Then we can decide what our next plan of attack is."

"Do you really want to involve Tom?" Zoe asked.

Dan sighed and Zoe imagined him runnng his hands through his blonde hair. "Not really. But he's got a knack for calming her down and we're going to need that."

"Are you going to tell her about . . . Wha you are?" Zoe asked.

"Not tonight." Dan replied. "It'll be too much for her to take in. But she needs to know. I'm ninety percent sure she's the Chosen Sorceress."

"What about Tom?" Zoe asked. "We can't just leave him in the dark."

"Zo, I honestly don't know. I'm going to have to figure it out." Dan said.

"Okay." Zoe said. "I love you, Dan."

"I love you too. Be ready to invite me in when I get there."

"Why would you need - _Oh_. You've never been to Aneisha's before."

"That's my girl." Dan said. "So smart."

Zoe flushed. "See you when you get here."

"Bye, Zo. I love you."

Zoe hung up and shoved her phone back into her pocket, walking back into Aneisha's bedroom. Aneisha was sitting on her bed, flipping through a large book witg a leather cover.

"He's coming. He's bringing Tom with him." Zoe said, sitting on the bed across from Aneisha. Aneisha simply nodded, her attention focused on the book. With a start, Zoe realised that it was a book of spells.

"This was Mum's." Aneisha said softly. "She always used to say that I was the Chosen One. I never even knew what it meant. I still don't know what it means."

Zoe wished she could say something - _anything_ - to comfort her friend. Aneisha's mother had died in a car accident five months before. Zoe had never felt as helpless as she did when Aneisha got upset about her mum. What could you say to someone who had lost their family when you yourself had no real family to lose?


	14. Chapter 14

When Zoe heard a knock on the front door, she rushed down the stairs as fast as she could, pretending that she was jus really excited to see Dan. Not that it was very hard.

When she pulled the door open, she found Tom genuinely shivering in the cold air and Dan pretending that he was as cold as Tom was. Apparently, since they were technically dead, vampires didn't feel the cold like the living did.

"Get in here, both of you." Zoe said, stepping aside. Dan glanced at the doorframe as he crossed the threshold and then he gave Zoe a grateful smile.

"Where is she?" Tom asked, his brown eyes worried.

"Upstairs. Bedroom." Zoe replied. Tom was dashing off before she had even finished speaking, taking the stairs two at a time. When he reached Aneisha's bedroom door, he made himself calm down. Dan had told him what was happening on the way over and his head was still reelng from it. He took a deep breath and then pushed open the door. "Neish?"

Before he'd even taken two steps, Aneisha slammed into him, her arms wrapping around his neck. Tom held her, pressing his face into her hair.

"I'm scared, Tom." Aneisha whispered, her whole body trembling against him.

"I know. But it's going to be okay. We're all going to work this out together." Tom replied, his hand touching the back of her neck gently.

Aneisha nodded and pulled away as Dan and Zoe came in.

"Dan." Aneisha said. "What is going on?"

"Sit down." Dan said. Aneisha sat on the bed, leaning against the pillows. Tom sat beside her and Dan perched on the end of the bed while Zoe stood behind him. Dan started explaining about the Chosen Sorceresses. All the while, Aneisha's expression became more and more frightened, until Dan finished and she asked, "Okay. But what do they need the Chosen Sorcesses for?"

"To help defeat vampires." Dan said.

Aneisha stared at him. "They don't exist."

"Sure they do." Dan said. "You're the Chosen Sorceress. Vampires isn't that much of a stretch."

"They don't exist." Aneisha insisted.

Dan sighed and moved onto the bed so he was sitting with his legs crossed in front of her. "They do and I can prove it. Touch each of my temples with the tips of your fingers and concentrate. You're strong enough that you'll be able to read my mind."

"Dan!" Zoe cried. Dan turned his head to look at her and Zoe's worry peaked. If Aneisha read his mind, she'd see his true nature. She'd see what he was before he'd nearly killed Kloe. She'd see what his true nature was. She'd see things that Zoe couldn't even begin to imagine.

But Zoe knew that she couldn't stop Dan. Once he got his mind set on something, it practically took an army to change it.

Zoe nodded once and moved to sit beside Dan on the bed as Aneisha leaned forward, pressing her fingertips against Dan's temples. Aneisha closed her eyes and a look of pure concentration passed across her face. As Zoe watched, Aneisha's face twisted into a look of horror. She gave a strangled scream as her eyes opened wide and before Zoe could stop her, Aneisha pulled her knees towards her chest and then straightened her legs, pushing her feet into Dan's stomach. With a grunt, Dan rolled backwards off the bed and landed on the hardwood floor with a solid thump. Aneisha stared at him with wide, horrified eyes as Zoe slipped off the bed and knelt down beside Dan.

"Neish?" Tom asked. "What is it? What did you see?"

Aneisha made a small whimpering sound, burying her face in Tom's jacket as his arm wound around her shoulders.

Dan pulled himself upright so he was sitting, turning his head to look at Zoe. She looked worried and Dan reached out and took her hand, squeezing her fingers tightly.

"Are you okay?" Zoe whispered, so quiet that only he could hear.

Dan nodded. "I'm invincible, remember?"

On the bed, Aneisha pulled her head up and turned to fix her brown eyes on Dan and Zoe. She was trembling, so violently that Tom felt scared for her. It couldn't be natural for anyone to shake that much.

"What did you see?" Tom asked again.

Aneisha turned to him. "Vampire."

Tom nodded. "That's what he wanted you to see. That they exist."

"No, Tom, you don't get it." Aneisha said. "He doesn't just know of them. He's one of them."

Tom turned to look at Dan and Zoe, huddled together on the floor.

"Zoe, get away from him." Tom said.

Zoe shook her head, pressing herself into Dan's side. "I know what he is. I'm not going anywhere."

"Zoe, he's a monster - " Aneisha started.

"He is as far from a monster as you can get." Zoe said. "He's had plenty of chances of kill each and every one of us, but he hasn't."

"He's killed - " Aneisha started.

"No. He thought he did and _that's_ why he changed to animal blood." Zoe said. She stood, moving towards the bed. "If you don't believe me. Read me. See for yourself."

Cautiously, Aneisha stood, pressing her fingers to Zoe's temples. Zoe closed her eyes, concemtrating on everything that made Dan who he was - his compassion, his senitivity. She focused on everything that Dan had told her about the curse of vampirisim, the way he had looked when Katarina had talked about remembering what it was like to be human. She remembered what Matthew had told her about Dan and the way Dan had turned from her in an effort to hide his true nature from her.

When Zoe felt Aneisha's fingers leave the sides of her head, she opened her eyes. Aneisha was staring at her with an astonished expression as she stepped back.

"Well?" Tom asked.

"It's true. He really does love her. He's scared that he'll hurt her, like he nearly hurt Kloe." Aneisha said. Tom didn't bother to ask what had happened between Dan and Kloe - he had a pretty good imagination and he could guess.

Aneisha moved towards Dan, kneeling down in front of him. "Can I see it?"

"You've already seen it." Dan said.

"But Tom hasn't." Aneisha said.

"Dan, you don't have to." Zoe said softly.

"They should see it. It just means I'll have to feed tonight." Dan said. Then he turned to Aneisha. "Get back, Neish. This has the power to give people heart attacks."

Aneisha nodded and moved back onto the bed with Tom, who was staring at Dan with so many emotions that it was impossible to read. Closing his eyes, Dan searched within himself for the Thirst. He hated that this was the only way he could do it, the only way that he could truly show himself to his friends, but just like Zoe, they had the right to know.

When he found it, Dan pulled the Thirst to the surface, opening his eyes. Aneisha gasped and Tom just stared, wanting to look away but being so mesmerised by the veins that snaked across Dan's temples and neck and his eyes, now as black as night, that Tom found that he couldn't. Zoe, however, just watched with a sad expression. She knew how much Dan hated what he was.

Aneisha nodded and Dan pushed the Thirst back again as best he could. It worked. Mostly. His pupils were still a little too dialated and he could feel that his canines were a little sharper than they ought to be.

"Is there any way that we can protect ourselves?" Tom asked.

Dan nodded as Zoe sat beside him, placing her hand on his arm.

"I'm going to try and get ahold of Holy Water for each of you." Dan said. "Throw it on their skin, it'l hurt like hell. Get it down their throat - they'll be in agony for a week afterwards. Though, Neish, you won't need it."


	15. Chapter 15

**Sorry this has taken so long, guys! I had a MAJOR setback, but it's fixed now! So here's chapter 15!**

"Why not?" Aneisha asked.

"Because once we get you strong enough, you'll be able to summon flames at will." Dan explained. "And besides, vampires, over the centuries, have learned not to drink the Chosen's blood."

"Why not?"

"Because apparently it tastes foul to vampires. But apparently it also quenches the Thirst for a week."

Aneisha smiled. "Let's test that theory."

Before anyone could stop her, she got up and walked over to her desk, where she grabbed a pin and a small container. Aneisha pricked her finger and winced, but she let the blood that gathered at the cut drip into the container. Once there way a tiny puddle of blood in the bottom of the container, the cut healed over.

"Welcome to the world of the supernatural." Dan said, his muscles stiff from effort it cost him to keep the Thirst at bay from the smell of Aneisha's blood. It was tye most intoxicating thing Dan had ever smelled - it made the Thirst scream and yank angrily against its bonds.

"Cool." Aneisha said, walking over to Dan and handing him the container.

"Bottoms up." Dan muttered and then held the container to his lips, tipping his head back. At first, the blood was most amazing thing he'd ever tasted, but then it changed. It felt as if he were swallowing knives and it _hurt_.

Dan dropped the container as the Thirst recoiled inside him. He curled in on himself, coughimg and spluttering as he struggled to get the blood down. His body shook violently, as if an invisible force was shaking him for being so stupid. Zoe felt helpless - she wanted to do something - _anything_ - to help him. But she knew that he woudn't want the one thing that could help him, so she was stuck with simply watching and suffering silently along with him.

When Dan managed to sit up, he looked better, somehow. He again searched inside himself for the Thirst - not to bring to forward, but to check that it was there. It was there, but it was subdued. Quiet. For the first time in a long time, he had no desire to drink blood.

"Dan?" Zoe asked, reaching out and touching his shoulder. Dan turned to her, his blue eyes bright in a way that Zoe had never seen before.

"It's there." Dan said. "But it's not _there_."

Aneisha smiled. "So now we know. The Chosen's blood tastes foul to vampires. But it also subdues the Thirst. Okay. What else do I need to know?"

* * *

Several hours later, the two girls were curled up asleep on Aneisha's bed as Dan and Tom let themselves out. Dan was walked in silence, revelling in the feeling of a subdued Thirst.

"How long do you think it'll last?" Tom asked.

Dan shrugged. "I don't really know. It's apparently supposed to last a week, but I'm guessing that depends on the vampire, but my guess is that it'll only last a few days. My Thirst is stronger than most."

"Do you think that comes from being the kid of two Old Ones?" Tom asked. While at Aneisha's, Dan had told them everything.

"I think that might be it." Dan replied. "It's the only explaination that I can come up with."

Tom sighed. "What would you prefer? Being human or being a vampire?"

"Human." Dan said without hesitation. "Trust me, Tom. You don't want to be what I am. Sure, I'm immortal. But the best part about it is the worst part. Tom, everyone I've ever known is going to die. You, Neish, Frank, Stella, Zoe . . ."

"You could always Turn Zoe." Tom said.

"I wouldn't do that unless she asked me to." Dan said. "And I'd only do that unless she was absolutely sure that that was what she wanted. Even then, I'd rather lose her than comdemn her to this life. Being a vampire - it's not a gift. It's a curse."

Tom nodded. "Say . . . She got Turned. By accident. What would you do?"

Dan shook his head. "It's not something that happens on accident, Tom. You have to be bitten by a vampire, fed that very same vampire's blood and then you have to die within fourty-eight hours."

"Just anwser the damn question."

"I would help her through it." Dan said. It wasn't an anwser he had to think about - he would help her. He would always help her. "I would teach her to live like I do - to feed on small animals, to drink only a little human blood each day to keep up the strength that we gain from human blood."

"How do you know that she wouldn't be able to control the Thirst?" Tom asked.

"I don't." Dan said. "But her compassion - it's who she is. Zoe cares about everyone so deeply and when you're Turned, _everything_ becomes more intense. If she ever hurt someone, it would kill her, Tom."

Tom nodded. He understood what Dan meant - he'd seen how much Zoe cared about people, despite her dispassionate upbringing.

"So you'd rather spend a single lifetime with her than spend a thousand lifetimes with her bearing the curse of vampirisim?"

"Yes." Dan said, kicking a small stone out of his way. "If anyone deserves to be human, Zoe does. Hell, if I could, I'd make her forget all of this. I'd make her forget about vampires, forget about me and then I'd skip town. _That's_ what Mum and Dad would want."

"So why don't you?" Tom asked.

"Because I can't." Dan said. "I love her and I should do exactly what I just said, but I - can't - do it."

"But you could do it? Make her forget?" Tom asked.

Dan nodded. "Offspring and the Old Ones - we have the power to make anyone with a will weaker than our own do what we want."

Tom nodded, shoving his hands into his pockets and watching the ground as he walked.

"Okay, now it's my turn to ask a question." Dan said. "Why the _hell_ aren't you scared of me?"

"Zoe. From the way she was so passionate about making us see that you weren't a bloodsucking monster, I could see that you weren't going to hurt any of us."

"You do realise that by nature, I am a bloodsucking monster." Dan said.

"Yeah, but there's one difference between you and Count Dracula. You actually have your humanity."


	16. Chapter 16

When Zoe woke up the next morning, her head was against Aneisha's leg and her legs were hanging off the side of the bed.

"Mm-hm." Aneisha mumbled. "Vampires . . . Chosen . . ."

Zoe sighed, getting up. She distantly wondered how Dan was doing, and if his Thirst had returned yet.

Just as she wondering if it was too early to call him, Zoe's phone rang. As she rummaged through her bags to find it, Aneisha pushed herself up on her elbows. "What the - "

Zoe found her phone and anwsered the call, but not before checking the caller ID. It was Dan.

"Hey, Dan." Zoe said brightly. "How's the - "

"Save it. Would you like to tell me why my son looks like death and won't get out of bed?"

"_Katarina_?" Zoe asked, astonished. "What - what are you talking about?"

"Don't make me repeat myself." Katarina snapped.

An image flashed through Zoe's mind, of Dan sitting on Aneisha's bedroom floor, hunched over a small plastic container beside him.

"I'll be right over." Zoe said and then hung up.

"Where are you going?" Aneisha asked as Zoe quickly yanked a brush through her hair and changed into jeans and a violet, long-sleeved, button-up shirt. As she shoved her feet into black boots, she rolled her sleeves up to her elbows.

"To Dan's. Apparently he's sick."

"How could he be sick? He's a vamp . . . ire." Aneisha said, brown eyes widening. "Oh, God. He drank my blood. It's my fault."

"I'll let you know how he is." Zoe said, before slipping out the door.

* * *

Zoe knocked on the Morgans' front door, bouncing on the balls of her feet. When the door finally opened, Ezekiel was standing in the doorway.

"How is he?"

"Bad. Come with me." Ezekiel said. He turned and started to lead her through the house, to Dan's bedroom. Except she didn't get there.

Zoe saw a blur of brown at her right, but before she could turn, slender fingers wrapped around her throat and pushed her back into the wall. Zoe kicked and thrashed as she found herself staring into the pretty face of Katarina Morgan.

"What did you do to my son?" Katarina hissed, her blue eyes flashing with anger.

"I didn't do any - " Zoe started, but then Katarina's fingers tightened around her neck, cutting her off.

"You little - "

"Zoe!" Someone yelled and then Katarina let go of Zoe as someone struck her shoulder. Suddenly free, Zoe crashed to the floor, gasping for air as Katarina stumbled backwards and someone stepped between her and Zoe.

"It's not her fault." Dan said. He didn't sound well. "You want to know what happened? I drank the blood of the Chosen Sorceress. I wanted to see if the legends were true."

Katarina gasped, her gaze travelling to Zoe, who was still laying at Dan's feet. "I'm so sorry, sweetheart. I just . . . " she trailed off and Ezekiel ushered her away as Dan knelt down, pulling Zoe upright.

"You okay?" Dan asked, his eyes focused on the purple bruises appearing at Zoe's throat.

Zoe nodded, looking up into his face. "You look like hell, Morgan."

Dan gave a shaky laugh, but his knees buckled, so he was sitting on the floor. Zoe watched him worriedly - his skin looked ghostly pale, his blue eyes blank with fatigue.

"You need human blood." Zoe realised.

Dan shook his head. "I'll be fine." Then he placed the palm of his hand against the wall and hauled himself to his feet. Zoe got up and wrapped one arm around Dan's waist, grabbing Dan's arm and placing it around her shoulders. Dan stumbled along beside Zoe as she led him into his bedroom and placed him on the bed. Dan sighed as he collapsed against the pillows and Zoe knelt down beside the bed.

"You need human blood, Dan." Zoe said. Dan shook his head, pushing blonde hair out of his eyes.

"Zoe - "

"Dan." Zoe said, reaching out and touching his hand. "You're always looking after me. Let me look after you for once."

Dan stared at her with tired blue eyes and then he nodded. "Okay. But just a little bit."

Zoe smiled, turning her hand over so her wrist was facing upwards. "I love you, Dan."

Dan leaned forward and pressed a kiss to Zoe's forehead. "I love you too, Zo."

Zoe reached out with her hand that wasn't resting on the bed, brushing hair out of his eyes. "Drink, Dan."

As she watched, Dan's eyes turned black and he leaned down, pressing a kiss to the soft skin of her wrist and then he bit down. Zoe gasped as she felt a sharp pain, but then she felt a numbing sensation that started from the wound in her wrist and then spread through her bloodstream. Zoe knew what that was - it was vampire endorphins, meant to stop a vampire's victim from dying in complete and utter agony. But as good as they felt, Zoe pushed the endorphins into the back of her mind. She needed to focus on making sure that Dan didn't take too much blood.

When she was sure that he had taken enough, Zoe placed her hand on Dan's shoulder and pushed him back into the pillows. Dan flopped back, breathing heavily as Zoe looked down at her wrist. There were two puncture marks in her skin, but she didn't feel any pain.

"Are you okay?" Dan asked. Zoe looked up at him and immediately noticed that already, he looked much better. The colour had returned to his face.

"I'm fine." Zoe said, giving him a small smile. "It doesn't even hurt."

"It will, though. Once the drugs wear off, it will." Dan said. Zoe stared at him as she realised exactly what it was he ws saying. She shook her head. "No, Dan. You've drunk my blood and if I drink yours, the only thing standing between me and vampirsim is death. I can't . . . I love you, but I can't be a vampire."

Dan nodded and smiled gently as he brushed hair out of her eyes. "I was hoping that you'd say something like that."

* * *

A few hours later, Zoe went back over to Aneisha's to fill her in on what happened. Dan's veins were singing with the long-missed joy of having human blood in his system, but he knew that now he'd had to be more careful than ever around Zoe. He was having a hard enough time with controlling the Thirst while in her presence as it was. Now he knew what her blood tasted like - the only that stood between him and killing her was how much he loved her.

But the legends surrounding the Chosen Sorceresses blood had turned out to be true - there was just one tiny detail that had been missed out. Sure, the blood tasted foul. And sure, Dan's Thirst had been dormant. But drinking that blood had almost killed him. _Him, _an vampire, an immortal.

Dan knew that he was never going to drink Aneisha's blood again. It wasn't worth the trouble, just so that he wouldn't feel the Thirst for a few hours.

Sighing, Dan climbed out of bed and changed into jeans and a black t-shirt. If the vampiric part of him was deciding to take a nap, he may as well pretend to be human. When Dan got to the kitchen, however, the sight that greeted him shocked him to his very core.


	17. Chapter 17

**I'm really, really, really sorry that this chapter is so short, guys! But I need it to be like this so that I can introduce my villain for the first two thirds of the trilogy, and what happens with him leads into the third story. So again, I'm really sorry, but this is the way it kind of has to be.**

* * *

_When Dan got to the kitchen, however, the sight that greeted him shocked him to his very core._

There was a man leaning against the kitchen counter, wearing along black trench coat over black jeans and a black shirt. He grinned at Dan, whose muscles tensed with distrust. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to see my favourite nephew. I heard that he did something very stupid and I wanted to come and see him."

"I'm hardly your favourite nephew." Dan said.

"Ah, yes. But, my boy, you are my _only_ nephew. That makes you my favourite by default." The man said, straightening up. "So why don't you give your Uncle Will a big hug?"

"What do you want, William?" Dan asked bitterly, crossing his arms over his chest.

"To see if you are still on that ridiculous diet of yours." William said. "You know, you are one of the few vampires I've ever met that feels so much compassion to those . . . animals."

"And you're the only vampire I've ever met who feels nothing for them at all." Dan shot back.

"Is it that girl?" William asked, stepping towards Dan. "Come on, Daniel. Imagine what it would be like to watch the light leave her eyes, to watch as - "

"Don't." Dan hissed. "I know what her blood tastes like. And I can haunt myself with that. So now . . . Get out of my house."

William looked surprised at the protective fire that burning in Dan's eyes, but he turned and walked out. Dan's muscles relaxed as he watched him go. Dan had met many vampires that he loathed. William Morgan topped the list. He was ruthless and cruel and Dan knew that he was hell-bent on turning Dan into the bloodsucking monster that literature portrayed vampires to be.

"Dan?" A voice said behind him. Dan turned to see Matthew standing there, hands shoving into his pockets. "Are you okay? I heard you got sick."

"I'm fine. I just did something really stupid that I _guarantee_ I won't be doing again."

Matthew nodded. "Are you sure you're okay?"

Dan shook his head. "We're screwed. We're all screwed."

"Even Zoe?"

Dan lifted his head. _"Especially_ Zoe."

"Why? What's going on?"

"You know my uncle? The one who thinks that vampires shoud rule the world?"

"Yeah . . ."

"He's back."

Matthew's eyes widened. "Yeah, we're screwed."

* * *

Later that night, Zoe was getting ready for bed when she heard something tap on her bedroom window. Sighing, she got up, half-expecting to see Matthew. Instead, she saw blonde hair pushed away from a high forehead. Dan.

Smiling, Zoe pulled her window open and stepped aside. "Would you like to come in, Daniel?"

Dan smiled and nodded, gracefully swinging himself through the window and landing silently inside her room.

"Did it . . . Did the blood work?" Zoe asked. "You look better."

Dan nodded. "Yeah. It worked."

Zoe smiled, but she couldn't help noticing that he looked worried.

"Dan? Is everything okay?"

Out of his pocket, Dan pulled out a small glass bottle with a cork lid. It appeared to be filled with water. "I want you to keep this on you at all times."

"Holy Water." Zoe said, reaching out to take it. "The one thing that can weaken a vampire without killing them."

"Well, I don't know about that. I want to look into the Chosen Sorceress' blood, to see if that kills them or just makes them really sick." Dan said as he took the bottle from Zoe, pulled the lid off and let one drop of the vampires' dreaded substances drop onto his skin.

"Bitch." Dan muttered as his skin sizzled and burned, before it healed, all in a matter of seconds. He then re-lidded the bottle and then handed it to Zoe. "I don't like keeping things from you. So I'm going to tell you exactly what's going on."

Zoe nodded and gestured for him to continue.

"After you left today, my uncle showed up. At first he said that he'd heard about me drinking the Chosen Sorceress' blood and he wanted to see me. But then he told me that he wanted to see if I was still drinking from animals."

"Okay. So what does that mean?" Zoe asked. Dan didn't answer immediately. Instead, he sat on the edge of Zoe's bed and took a dee breath before looking up at her. "He's here to do two things and he wn't stop until they're done."

"Dan, what are they? What has he come here to do?" Zoe asked, sitting beside him.

"The first is he's here to kill Aneisha. The second is that he wants to torture me through you."

* * *

**MWAHAHAH! THE DREADED CLIFFHANGER STRIKES AGAIN! I know. I'm evil.**


	18. Chapter 18

**Hey guys! Sorry about my cliffhangers, I love them. Just saying. Please don't hate me. But I am so glad you guys seemed excited with the idea of William and some of your ways of saying it were hilarious!**

* * *

Zoe stared at him. "What . . . Why would he want to kill Aneisha?"

_Typical Zoe_, Dan thought. _Always worrying about other people before herself._

"She's the Chosen Sorceress." Dan said. "It's a supernatural occurance, made to protect the world from vampires like my uncle."

"But_ why_ do they need a sorceress to do that? Why can't it just be a vampire slayer or something?"

Dan grinned. "Been watching _Buffy_, have you?"

"Just answer the damn question." Zoe said. She wasn't smiling.

"There's only one way to kill an Old One - they have to be set on fire with the Chosen Sorceress's fire." Dan explained. He hadn't explained this at Aneisha's. "The fire created by a Sorceress - the molecular structure is different from that of normal flames and that's what kills Old Ones. But the whole reason for the Sorceress is to eradicate vampires like William, so back in . . . I think it was 1485, he decided to kill off the bloodline."

"Bloodline?"

Dan nodded. "The Chosen are all from the same bloodline. It has to be that way, so that each generation will be stronger than the last. William thought he'd killed off the bloodline all those centuries ago, but there must have been a distant relative or a baby that was kept secret to carry on the bloodline. Usually, it goes from mother to daughter. That would explain why Aneisha's powers are only showing up now . . . Since her Mum's only just died."

"You're saying that Aneisha's mum was a Sorceress?"

Dan nodded. "But I was hoping to get to Aneisha long before William turned up."

"How do you know he's even here to kill Aneisha?"

"He said, 'I heard that my nephew did something very stupid.' Trust me, he knows about Aneisha. And that means he's here to kill her."

Zoe nodded, turning the bottle of Holy Water over in her hands. "I wish I could protect her from all this. Or at least Tom. I don't know how he's going to handle all of this."

"Neish will help him through it." Dan said. He touched Zoe's shoulder and she looked at him. She tried to offer him a small smile, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. "So why is he going to use me to torture you?"

"Because of the way I live." Dan said. "He's obviously been around for a few weeks to be showing himself now. Which means - "

"He knows about us." Zoe finished. Dan nodded as she continued speaking, "Dan, when I said that I wouldn't drink your blood because I didn't want to be a vampire, you said that you hoped I'd say that. What did you mean?"

Dan took a deep breath as Zoe set the bottle of Holy Water on the bedside table. Finally, Dan spoke. "The last thing I want for you is to be like me. If you couldn't control the Thirst and you hurt someone . . . It would destroy you, Zo. And it's not like we can just turn off the part of us that's human at will." He brushed hair away from Zoe's face. "It's not that I don't want to spend forever with you, Zo, because I do. It's just that I don't want to damn you for all enternity."

Zoe nodded. "How would William torture you through me?"

"It'll start with talking about your blood." Dan said. "It'll make it worse, knowing what it tastes like."

"Sorry." Zoe mumbled.

"No, don't apologise." Dan told her, taking her hands. "You saved me."

Zoe smiled and squeezed his hands. Dan smiled softly down at her before he continued. "Then it'll go to sex. Then he'll talk about drinking your blood during sex. Then he'll . . ." He trailed off, clenching his jaw at the very thought of what his own _uncle _wanted to do to her.

"What?" Zoe asked. "Dan, what will he do?"

"He'll Turn you."

"We don't know that. He might not." Zoe said.

"No, he will. A long time ago, Dad was a vampire while Mum was still only a human. Dad fed on small animals, until William resurfaced and found a way to make more Old Ones. He Turned Mum."

"And you think he'll do it with me." Zoe said. "Why doesn't he Turn me into an Old One then? Why just a regular vampire?"

"Because the Old One spell was lost many centuries ago." Dan said. Zoe nodded, looking away as tears gathered in her eyes. Dan pulled her into his lap, tucking her head under his chin as Zoe gripped his shirt and sobbed.

"It won't get that far." Dan promised, holding her close. "We'll get Aneisha strong and then we can kill him. He's had over a thousand years to cause misery. It's time we put a stop to it."

Zoe looked up at him, her eyes still sparkling with tears. "You'd really kill your uncle, just to keep me safe?"

"I'd do anything to keep you safe." Dan said, pressing his mouth against Zoe's. Zoe wrapped her arms around Dan's neck and twisted, so that her knees rested on the mattress on either side of Dan's hips. Dan wrapped his arms around Zoe's waist and held her close as Zoe's fingers slid into Dan's hair. So fast that Zoe could barely feel it happening, Dan twisted so that Zoe was lying on her back on the bed with Dan hovering over her. Zoe's hands ran down Dan's back as his mouth pressed more feverishly against her own before moving from her mouth to her jawline and then to her neck. It was only after he'd done it that Dan realised how large the magnitude of his mistake was. He could feel Zoe's heartbeat against his lips and it was awakening the Thirst inside of him - already it was growling, impatienty waiting to taste Zoe's blood again.

_No_, Dan hissed at it before climbing off Zoe. Zoe sat up, watching as he pushed the Thirst back, his eyes turning a deep blue and the veins at his temples becoming paler before they disappeared completely. Even though his canines no longer appeared to be little daggers, there was a throbbing in his upper jaw that couldn't be silenced.

"Well," Dan said, sitting back against the pillows. "That didn't last long."

"It's back?" Zoe asked, knowing full well what he was talking about. Dan simply nodded. He didn't need to elaborate - he'd described to her before what the Thirst was like. It was like a little monster inside of you, that only human blood or binge-drinking on animals could completely satisfy.

"I'd better go." Dan said.

Zoe nodded, watching as Dan got up and moved over to the window. He wrenched it open and then looked back at Zoe, sitting on the bed.

"I love you, Zoe." Dan said. "I hope you know that."

Before Zoe could answer, Dan flung himself out of the window. Zoe gasped and barrelled over to the window, watching as Dan ran down the street, his blonde hair being his only distinguishable feature in the dark night. Shaking her head, she pulled the window closed. Dan and Matthew. One a vampire, one a werewolf. What was it with them both and jumping out of windows?


	19. Chapter 19

When he got to school on Monday morning, Dan found Aneisha and Tom standing close together, talking and laughing. He strode towards them, gave them a bottle of Holy Water each and told them what he'd told Zoe. By the end, Aneisha had a determined look in her eyes.

"You want me to kill a thousand-year-old vampire?" She asked.

Dan nodded.

"Who wants to Turn Zoe into the one thing she doesn't want to be and wants kill me and my entire family?"

Dan nodded again.

"Let's do it." Aneisha said. "How about we all come over tonight and we can work on me . . . Getting stronger."

"You don't have to do it, Neish." Tom said quietly.

"I want to." Aneisha said. "Dan, couldn't we get you parents in on it too?"

"Mum, yes." Dan said. "I'm not so sure about Dad. William's his brother. But I'm going to get Matthew in on it. He'll definitely help."

"Who's Matthew?" Tom asked. Dan quickly explained about his werewolf of a best friend as Zoe walked up.

"I'll get him to come too tonight." Dan said.

"You sure he won't . . . You know, Change?" Tom asked.

Dan shook his head. "Not unless he has to. Look, he's like me. He has rules against hurting . . . People."

"Is there anything about being Chosen that protects me from werewolves?" Aneisha asked.

"When you're strong enough, you can stop them from Changing. That's it." Dan replied.

"So, basically, anything cool takes a hell of a lot of time and energy." Aneisha said.

"Basically." Dan replied.

"Zoe? What's that?" Aneisha asked that evening, pointing to Zoe's bandaged wrist.

"Um . . . It's uh . . ." Zoe stammered, glancing quickly at Dan in alarm.

"You didn't." Aneisha said.

"You did." Zoe shot back.

"Yes, but that was to test a theory." Aneisha said, pulling Zoe to the side. "And he's not in love with me."

"So? What's that got to do with anything?"

"Zoe, I've been researching vampires over the past couple of days and - "

"Love, lust and blood are all directly linked." Tom finished from his spot beside Dan, a metre away from the two girls.

"So you're saying that - "

"Look, all I'm saying is that Dan's Thirst is strong. Now that he's tasted your blood . . . It's going to be harder than ever to control it when he's around you."

* * *

"What are we talking about?" Dan asked as he walked in, a brunette boy trailing behind him.

"Nothing." Zoe said, looking away

"Matthew, I presume." Aneisha said.

"The witch, I presume." Matthew said, grinning.

Aneisha stormed towards him, shoving Dan out of the way. Aneisha was shorter than Matthew and although Matthew could change into a massive wolf at will and Aneisha was only just beginning to discover the extent of her powers, the werewolf couldn't help feeling scared at the look in the girl's eyes as she hissed, "I am a Sorceress. _Not_ a witch. And if I ever hear you call me that, I will tear you _limb_ from _limb_. Understood?"

Matthew nodded and swallowed. "Yes. Understood."

Aneisha nodded and stepped back to sit beside Tom. While Aneisha had been threatening Matthew, Dan moved to sit beside Zoe, who was lounging on the floor. Despite the fact that she was still trying to process the link between love, lust and blood that Aneisha had told her about earlier, she curled into his side, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Okay, start talking. Dan didn't tell us anything about werewolves." Tom said.

"Please don't Change." Zoe muttered from her spot at Dan's side.

"I won't. Dan refused to tell you, so I decided to show you." Matthew told her.

"Look, how do we even know we can trust you?" Aneisha asked, glaring at him.

"You don't like me very much." Matthew said.

"I don't appreciate being called a witch." Aneisha shot back.

"Would you prefer me to call you something that rhymes with that?" Matthew shot back.

"Both of you, stop it." Dan said.

"Excuse me if your friends don't trust me." Matthew said.

"Well, excuse me if - "

"Both of you, SHUT UP!" Dan yelled. "Look, Matt, I don't get what your issue is but you seriously need to calm down."

"I'll calm down when your little friends stop treating me like - "

"Look, do you want to know why I don't trust you?" Aneisha yelled. "Because William is after my best friend and me and my entire family and I don't want anyone to _screw_ this up. So give me something that proves I can trust you."

"Fine." Matthew hissed, brown eyes flashing with silver. "You want something that proves you can trust me? Fine, I'll tell you something that I've never even told _Dan, _who I've known for _ten years_."

Beside Zoe on the floor, Dan stiffened as Tom and Aneisha exchanged a glance and Aneisha asked, "What's that?"

Matthew shot Dan a pained look before pulling up a chair and sitting down. Dan watched his best friend's movement with narrowed blue eyes, so curious that it vibrated through his whole body.

"I'm gay."


	20. Chapter 20

Matthew glanced at Aneisha, then Tom, then Zoe and then, finally, Dan. Dan looked more pissed off than Matthew had ever seen him and Zoe placed her hand on the blonde's arm. Dan glanced down at her, brushing hair out of her eyes. "Can you give us a minute?"

Zoe nodded and got up. As she walked towards the door, she gestured for Tom and Aneisha to follow. When the door closed behind them, Dan turned on Matthew. "So why didn't you tell me?"

Matthew shrugged. "Where shall I start?"

"Don't give me that crap." Dan snapped. "Okay, fine, you're gay. That's not what I'm pissed about. I want to know why you didn't tell me."

"You have enough crap to deal with it as it is." Matthew said. "Dan, you hate what you are. Anyone with working eyes can see that. I didn't want to add having to adjust to the fact that your best friend is gay to that."

Outside the room, Zoe listened intently for any signs that the vampire and the werewolf were about to start fighting. Instead, she heard Dan sigh and say, "That night that Zoe came over. You were texting someone. A girl called Louise. Who were you _really_ talking to?"

Matthew hesitated, but he said, "Logan. My boyfriend."

Zoe imagined Dan's surprised expression - raised eyebrows, wide eyes - and had to bite into her lower lip to stop herself from giggling. Zoe turned, so her back was resting against the door as she glanced curiously at Tom and Aneisha, talking quietly.

"What's with you two?" Zoe asked.

Tom looked up. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Yes you do. You're doing that thing that people do when they like each other - they talk in one corner and give off this really romantic vibe." Zoe said.

"What, the same vibe you and Dan give off?" Aneisha asked.

"No, ours is slightly sexier." Zoe replied, grinning.

Aneisha's eyebrows rose. She hadn't even known that 'sexier' or 'sexy' were in the redhead's vocabulary.

Zoe smirked and turned back to the door as Matthew asked, "You're really okay with me being gay? I mean, it's not weird?"

"Nah." Dan said. "Matt, I've got no right to judge. I'm a vampire who's in love with a human. And in a way, this is a good thing."

"And how do you figure that?" Matthew asked.

"Because now I know for sure that you won't be hitting on my girlfriend." Dan replied with a grin.

Zoe heard Matthew laugh and she smiled as Aneisha and Tom moved to stand beside her. "They good?"

Before Zoe could anwser Aneisha's question, Dan yelled, "Yeah, we're good!"

Zoe flung open the door. "Damn you and your vampire hearing, Dan."

Zoe only saw Dan's eyes flash before he was gone and someone was breathing down her neck. Zoe shivered as Dan wrapped his arms around Zoe's waist, ducking his head so that his lips were inches from her neck.

"Can you not?" Aneisha asked. "This is my bedroom."

Dan smiled and pressed a kiss to the top of Zoe's head as she yawned, leaning against him.

"Maybe we should save this for the weekend." Matthew said. "The humans look tired."

"I don't feel tired." Aneisha said.

"I meant Tom and Zoe." Matthew said. "You're supernatural now - you won't need sleep as much and you'll heal faster."

"Yeah, I figured that."

* * *

That Friday night, the four M.I.9 agents, plus Matthew, gathered in Dan's living room. They'd all agreed that although William could show up at any moment, it was better to do it there so that they would avoid uncomfortable questions from Aneisha's father.

"Okay, what do you want me to try to do?" Aneisha asked. She was settled on the floor with her legs crossed and her hands in her lap.

"Something easy. Seeing someone's future." Dan said. "Tom, sit in front of her."

Tom did as he was told, copying Aneisha's position.

"Okay, now take his hands and close your eyes. Focus on Tom." Dan instructed.

Aneisha nodded and reached forward, her hands closing around Tom's. Tom watched as her eyes closed, trying to ignore the dread in his stomach. Something was telling him that this was a very bad idea.

Aneisha ignored her fear. She needed to do this - Zoe was forever saving all their arses, so now it was Aneisha's turn to return the favour. It wouldn't be fair for Zoe to have to Turn before she was ready and for it to be performed as an act of revenge towards Dan, instead of an act of love from Dan - that would be horrible. Taking, slow, deep breaths, Aneisha focused on Tom. Already she could kind of feel people's auras - the coloured light surrounding them that told what kind of person they were. Zoe's was yellow and Matthew's was light blue, revealing how loyal he was. Dan's was interesting. His was red, which could mean a lot of different things. Aneisha took it that it was a sign of his strength, but it had undertones of grey. That was probably a result of the cynical side to his personality. What interested Aneisha the most was the black around the edge of his aura. This was the telltale sign that he was most definitely a creature of the night.

But now Aneisha gripped Tom's hands tightly and focused on his aura. She could fee it, even with her eyes closed. She could feel it teasing at the edge of her mind, its colours teasing her with their meanings. Tom's was blue with undertones of yellow and red - she took this as that he was scared, but he wanted to help. Concentrating, she focused harder on Tom's aura and tried to imagine what his future would be like.

Then she saw a picture in her mind - she saw Tom shove a wooden stake into the heart of a boy who was most definitely like Dan - one of the undead. He had black eyes and a network of prominent veins at his temples, half hidden under black hair. She saw the boy fall and Tom shoved the stake into his belt, taking a deep breath. Then the picture changed. The picture was black, but there was a symbol burning brightly in front of it. The symbol wws a simple design of the sun and in the middle of it, read the Latin equivalent of the word 'warrior.'

Aneisha only saw a quick flash of the symbol before Tom pulled his hands away, hissing in pain, but that was all she needed. She'd recognised the symbol as soon as she saw it.

"Tom?" Dan asked.

"My hand." Tom said, gingerly holding his right hand with his left. Suddenly Dan was at his side, grabbing his hand as Aneisha opened her eyes. She let out a strangled cry when her gaze rested on the back of Tom's hand. The very same design that she'd seen when she was trying to see Tom's future only a minute ago - the sun with the Latin writing in the middle - was burned into Tom's flesh on the back of his hand.


	21. Chapter 21

**Hey guys! So I have some news. Basically, I have so many stories to write that it would take me about a year to write them all, and that is if I didn't have homework and assignments and all the other crap teachers like to give me, so I've made a decision. On my bio, there's a list of stories with their summaries under the title 'Stories up for adoption'. ****They're what the name suggests - they're ideas for stories that I've had but I just don't have the time to write. Now, if you guys want the rights for any of those stories, just throw me an inbox (not literally, that would be painful) saying so. I'm not playing favourites with this, so it's first in, best dressed. I can tell you now that the stories up for adoption are called Voices and Head Trauma. When I get the reply saying which story you want the rights for, I'll give you a more in-depth description of what my plans for the story was. Okay, now that's done, on with the story!**

* * *

"You've chosen your Warrior." Dan said gravely, still gripping Tom's wrist.

"That's only supposed to be a legend." Aneisha protested. She'd seen a picture of the mark before in her mother's Sorceress books - it was called the Mark of the Warrior.

"Apparently not." Dan replied as he released Tom and moved towards one of the bookcases lining the room. Meanwhile, Zoe and Matthew crept closer, eager to see the Mark. Tom held his arm out so they could see it, trying to resist the urge to look at it himself. Zoe glanced at it quickly before sitting down, wrapping her arms around herself. Matthew, however, stared at it with an awed look on his face.

Dan clicked his tongue as he found the book he was looking for, pulling it off and moving towards the others. He opened it and sat down, Aneisha and Tom on either side of him as he placed it down in front of him and pointed to a picture at the top of the page.

Tom stared at it in horror. It was exactly the same as the fresh design tattooed onto the back of his hand.

"The Chosen's Warrior is something that was created along with the Chosen Sorceress." Dan began. "The Sorceress's purpose is to make sure that vampires don't go completely out of control. But that also makes the Sorceress a target for the vampires that _want_ to be out of control, so that's where the Warrior comes in. The Warrior is always Chosen by the Sorceress to protect her and the two are always . . . Close."

"How close?" Aneisha asked.

Dan glanced quickly between the both of them. What he said next was definitely going to change their relationship.

"Lovers." Dan said. "They're always lovers."

Aneisha and Tom glanced at each other quickly before looking away. "So what's going to happen now?"

"You'll become stronger." Dan said. "And you'll start to feel incredibly protective of Neish."

Tom nodded. "But how . . . I can't be a Warrior. I'm a computer geek. I can't throw a punch to save my life."

"That's about to change." Dan said. "Because soon you'll be using stakes to protect hers."

Matthew started to say something, but he stopped when Zoe abruptly got up and walked out. Dan watched her go, but he made no move after her.

"What's with Zoe?" Matthew asked.

"It's a lot for her to take in." Dan said.

"I'll go after her." Aneisha said, getting up. She walked out the front door, where Zoe was sitting on the steps, breathing heavily, like she was about to break down.

"Are you okay?" Aneisha asked, sitting down beside her.

"No. Tom shouldn't have to be going through this. You shouldn't be going through this. If I could have just made myself be scared of Dan when I found out what he was, none of this would be happening." Zoe said.

"No, this would _all_ be happening." Aneisha said. "I still would have worked out that I'm a Sorceress. Tom still would have been chosen as the Warrior. None of this is because you and Dan fell in love. This is all because Dan's uncle is a son of a bitch. The only thing that would change is that he would only want me dead, instead of wanting to make you a vampire _and _want me and my entire family's heads on sticks."

Zoe whimpered. "I just . . . I keep wishing that I could think of some way to protect everyone. Tom's right. He's a computer geek. He shouldn't have to be going through this."

"Neither should you." Aneisha said. "Zoe, you've been through enough as it is. Between SKUL and all this stuff with Mastermind, you don't need to be dragged into all this. But I know that you will be, because you love us all. You love me, you love Tom, you love Dan. If I could, Zoe, I'd make Dan human in a heartbeat."

"I wish there was a way." Zoe said. "I know he wants to be human. He hates what he is. Even if I had to die, I'd make him human."

"But then there'd be no point." Aneisha said. "There's no point in him being human if he loses you. If he was human and he didn't have you . . . He'd throw himself off a bridge the first chance he got."

"Dan wouldn't do that." Zoe said.

"Losing somebody that you love can make you do things you'd never expect." Aneisha said.

Zoe nodded and took a deep breath. Then she smirked as she looked at Aneisha. "So what's with you and Tom?"

"There is _nothing_ between me and Tom." Aneisha told her.

"Oh really? Because you heard what Dan said. The Sorceress and the Warrior are _always_ lovers." Zoe teased.

Aneisha shoved her shoulder playfully. "Shut up."

"Nope. This is payback for all the teasing Dan and I got." Zoe replied, grinning.

From the window, Dan watched as Aneisha shoved Zoe playfully again and both girls erupted into laughter. He smiled, turning away from the window and back to Matthew and Tom. Tom was sitting on the floor, leafing through the book and Matthew was sitting on the couch, textimg someone, probably Logan.

"So there's no way that I can be made to . . . Not be the Warrior?"

"No." Dan said.

"Okay. So what do we have to do?"

"Start training you. And Zoe. To fight and kill vampires." Dan replied.

"Why Zoe?" Tom asked.

"Because as much as none of us like it, Zoe is the core of all of this." Matthew said before Dan could even open his mouth. "She's what William wants. He wants to Turn her to get to Dan. She has to be able to defend herself."

"I'll do it." Zoe said.

The three boys turned to look at her and Aneisha, standing in the doorway. Zoe had a look of determination in her green eyes as she said, "I hate being unable to defend myself against KORPS. Vampires are no different."


	22. Chapter 22

"Are you okay?" Dan asked, wrapping his arms around Zoe's waist from behind. Zoe closed her eyes and rested her head against his shoulder as she murmured, "I'm fine."

"And why don't I believe you?" Dan asked softly, pressing a kiss to Zoe's hair. It was later, after Tom and Aneisha and Matthew had left. They'd spent nearly hours talking about the Warrior - how much of it was legend, how much of it was real. There were only a few things that they knew for sure - that Tom was the Warrior and he only had one true purpose now and that was to keep Aneisha safe.

"Probably because I'm lying." Zoe told him, opening her eyes so that she could see him.

"Okay. So will you tell me the truth?" Dan asked.

"My boyfriend is a vampire. His best friend is a werewolf. My best friend is a Sorceress whose destiny is to keep the world's vampires in check and my other best friend is the Chosen protector of said Sorceress. My boyfriend's uncle wants to Turn me into a vampire and he wants to kill my Sorceress of a best friend. How do you think I am?"

"Scared. Stressed. On the verge of having a nervous break-down." Dan said. "Am I getting close?"

"Yeah." Zoe said, closing her eyes. Dan sighed, tightening his hold on her waist and dropping his head into the crook of her neck, forcibly pushing back the Thirst. He was getting better at it, controlling the bloodlust.

"Aneisha explained to me about the connection between love and lust and . . . Blood." Zoe said, opening her eyes. They were standing on the Morgan's back porch, listening to the sounds of the night around them. Zoe was wearing one of Dan's jackets to help ward off the cold.

"She did, did she?"

Zoe nodded, turning around in Dan's arms so that she was facing him. She took his face in her hands, feeling his arms tighten around her. "Dan, I love you. If you are having issues with the Thirst, I need you to tell me. When I came here and told you that I loved you that first time, I had decided to love you. All of you. Even the part of you that has black eyes and dark veins and fangs. Even the part of you that wants my blood."

Dan rested his forehead against hers. "I love you."

"You said that you drink a little human blood each day, to keep your strength up." Zoe said.

Dan nodded. "I'll have to start drinking a little more if I'm going to stand a chance against William."

"Wouldn't . . . Wouldn't blood straight from the vein have more power than blood-bag-blood?" Zoe asked.

Dan stared at her until he realised what she was saying. Then, he shook his head. "No, Zoe. No, definitely not. No way in hell."

"Dan, we need an edge against William and something tells me that Aneisha isn't going to be enough. Dan, I am scared that I am going to lose you and Aneisha and Tom. You guys are all supernatural. I'm human. I can't do anything to protect you guys, but I can do something to give you an edge. Dan, please. Let me do this."

Dan took a deep, shuddering breath and released Zoe. "Zoe, I can't."

"We'd be killing two birds with the same stone." Zoe said. "You'd be getting stronger and you'd get used to the taste - "

"You don't get _used_ to the taste, Zo." Dan said sharply, cutting her off.

"Well, fine, then. You'll develop . . . A tolerance to it." Zoe said. "Dan, I need to do _something_. I can't let you all put your lives on the line for me - "

"It's not just for you." Dan said, which earned him a pointed look from Zoe, who crossed her arms across her chest. Dan sighed. "Okay, fine, it's for you. But Zoe, I can find another way."

"Dan, please. All you guys are letting me do is learn how to drive a wooden stick into the hearts of the undead. Please, let me do something that will make a difference."

Dan sighed, looking away. When his blue eyes found their way to her again, he smiled softly and sighed again. "Okay. A little bit, each day."

Zoe nodded and reached up to push her hair away from her neck, but Dan stopped her, his fingers making a trail from the side of her neck and collarbone, his eyes on the necklace that rested against her skin. "Not the neck. It's too easy to control the blood flow."

Zoe nodded, dropping her left arm and extending her right towards him. Dan took her arm in both hands, one at her wrist and the other at her forearm. Dan's blue eyes glanced up at Zoe as the hand that was wrapped around her forearm pushed the sleeve of her jumper up, revealing the soft, smooth skin underneath.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Dan asked.

Zoe nodded. "I love you, Dan."

Dan ducked his head, pressing his lips against her forearm, kissing her soft skin. Zoe watched him through a veil of auburn hair as Dan glanced up at her again, his pupils dialating so that they swallowed his irises as a network veins appeared at his temples and his neck. Zoe put her free hand on his neck, her thumb tracing the lines across his skin as Dan's lips pulled back from his teeth, revealing that his canines had grown into fangs that glittered in the moonlight. Zoe gasped as Dan bit into her wrist, his fingers tightening on her arm. Zoe grabbed at Dan's shoulder to steady herself as she felt the vampire endorphins kicking in, numbing the pain.

When he'd taken enough, Dan pulled his head up, gasping. His mouth was wet with blood - Zoe's blood. As the traces of bloodlust disappeared from his face, Dan glanced at Zoe. She smiled at him and moved her hand to his neck, leaning forward and pressing her mouth against his, blood and all.

When they pulled apart, Dan lifted his arm to his wrist and bit into his own skin.

"Dan - " Zoe said.

"Just a drop." Dan said. "It'll be enough to heal you, but not enough to Turn you if you die."

"Just a drop?"

"A drop." Dan agreed. "Just a drop."

Zoe nodded. "Okay."

With the arm that wasn't bleeding, Dan reached out and smoothed down Zoe's hair as Zoe took his arm. She touched her fingers to the wound and then lifted her fingertips to her mouth. She licked the blood off her fingers and swallowed, squeezing her eyes shut as it ran down her throat. It was far from being the most delicious thing she'd ever tasted. In fact, it was probably one of the worst things.

"You okay?" Dan asked.

"Yeah." Zoe said, giving him a rueful smile. "It's not tastiest thing I've ever drunk."

"Yeah. It doesn't taste the best to humans." Dan told her, wiping the blood off his wrist on his jeans.

"You've come a long way." Dan said. "In a really short amount of time."

"What do you mean?" Zoe asked, leaning against one of the poles supporting the roof and reaching up to play with the Morgan family crest that rested against her collarbone.

"A month ago, Zoe, you hated me because you found out I was a vampire. A week ago, you refused to drink from me because you were afraid that you would become like me."

"Nothing's changed, Dan. I won't be a vampire." Zoe said, subconsciously rubbing the spot on her wrist that Dan had bitten into. Already, it was healed. God, did it taste bad, but at least vampire blood really worked.

"Good. I don't want you to. That'll never change." Dan said.


	23. Chapter 23

"Okay, don't hold back." Dan said.

Tom rolled his eyes. "Hard to hold back when there's nothing to hold back."

"You're already getting stronger." Dan said.

"Right." Tom said sarcastically. Dan grinned and moved forward, grabbing for Tom. Tom shoved him away as hard as he could and Dan stumbled backwards into the tree, narrowly missing being impaled on a small, sharp branch.

"See? You're getting stronger." Dan told him, grinning.

Nearby, Zoe and Aneisha were sitting on the forest floor.

"So you're still feeding him your blood?" Aneisha asked, watching as Tom dove out of the way as Dan made to grab him.

Zoe nodded. "Only a little bit each day."

"What about . . . His blood?"

"Only once a week. I can't . . . I can't risk being a vampire." Zoe told her, averting her gaze.

Aneisha nodded. "Okay, let's see if I can do this without making someone my protector."

Zoe laughed as Aneisha reached out and took both her hands, closing her eyes. She reached out to Zoe's aura like she had with Tom, trying to envision what her future would be like. She imagined Dan and Zoe, the both of them human.

Instead, she saw something that made her gasp in utter shock and drop Zoe's hands.

"Aneisha?" Zoe asked. "What did you see?"

"What did you do?" Tom said as he moved up beside Aneisha, his hand on her shoulder. "Zoe, what did you do?"

"I didn't do anything." Zoe said.

"That's absolute bullsh - "

"Watch the anger, Tom. Remember what I said about being protective of her." Dan said, moving towards them. Tom took a deep breath and nodded.

"What did you see?" Tom asked calmly, sitting down beside Aneisha.

"It was nothing. Don't worry about it." Aneisha said.

"Are you sure? It didn't look like nothing." Zoe said.

"Just let it go, Zoe, alright?" Aneisha yelled.

Zoe looked taken aback, but she sat back so she and Dan were sitting side by side. Aneisha watched as Dan wrapped his arm around Zoe's waist and pressed a kiss to his beloved's hair, trying to not to turn around and look at Tom.

* * *

After Zoe and Tom had gone home, Dan made Aneisha stay.

"When we were out in the forest, you did see Zoe's future." Dan said, crossing his arms over his chest. "What did you see?"

"It's nothing." Aneisha said.

"Neish," Dan said, leaning forward. "You haven't hidden anything from us. Don't start now."

"You can't scare me, Dan." Aneisha said.

"I'm not trying to. Aneisha, you're hiding it from me and that means that it's serious. Please, Neish. Tell me what you saw."

"I saw Zoe." Aneisha started. "And she . . . She was drinking some guy's blood. She was a vampire."

Dan felt like his heart had been ripped from his chest. "You saw Zoe . . . As a vampire?"

Aneisha nodded. "I'm sorry, Dan."

Dan nodded as he put his head into his hands, digging his fingers into his scalp.

"That's just the course she's on now." Dan said, lifting his head. "The future can always change."

Aneisha swallowed. "It can, but something tells me that the only way her future will change is if we kill William."

"I thought that's what you kids were doing." Katarina said as she walked in. Aneisha could sense the power that the Old One had and shifted uncomfortably while Dan looked up at his mother fearlessly.

"So would you like to tell me why you're plotting against your own uncle?" Katarina asked, sitting beside her son on the couch.

"William made you a vampire because Dad loved you and fed only from animals. He's going to do the same to Zoe if we don't kill him. I don't want her to be a vampire, Mum. And she doesn't want to be one."

Katarina sighed. "But how would you kill him, Daniel? You can't him without the Chosen . . . " She trailed off, her eyes moving to Aneisha.

"Katarina Morgan." Aneisha said.

"The Chosen Sorceress." Katarina said. "Has your Warrior been Chosen?"

Aneisha nodded almost guiltily. Katarina turned to Dan. "I guess you don't want to bring your father into this?"

"No. Dad hates William as much as we all do, but we can't trust that he won't take William's side at the last minute." Dan said.

Katarina nodded once. "How can I help?"


End file.
